Home is where the Heart is
by DeLeyano
Summary: Everything was hazy; my eyes couldn't focus. Even the ground seemed to move beneath my hands as I tried to push myself off the earth. My head throbbed, and I swore I could see drops of blood splash on the ground below me. There was no snow on the ground, and instantly felt hot in all my layers. What happened? Where am I? Even just thinking the words caused excruciating pain.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: So I'm back and I'm trying something new, actually it's been in my head for quite some time, just difficult to put on paper. I don't own anything. Seriously I mean it, I'm a college student, which means that I'm poor and insignificant (according to the government). All Iron Fey things go to Julie Kagawa.

Important Notes: the rating right now is teen because I don't know exactly where I'm going with this story, it may go up. Also, I'm adding a few more years to the characters so that they fall in the 19-21 range. So college age, because that's what I understand the most.

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Chapter 1: An Introduction of Sorts

I rolled over to press the snooze button on the alarm, and almost fell face first onto the floor. I quickly rolled back on the bed to avoid a nasty wake-up call, and stared at the ceiling. _8AM classes were not a good decision, how did I ever believe I could do this?_ I reached for the alarm again, quickly turned it off, and got out of bed, the tile floors were freezing beneath my toes. _Joining a foreign exchange program in Sweden, also not a good idea_. I quickly pulled on leggings, a flowing pink blouse, and some knee high boots; and quickly raking a brush through my hair so I could run out the door as fast as possible. I shrugged on a coat, gloves, and hat, grabbed my book bag and rushed out the door. What I didn't mention was that I'd already pushed snooze at least five times, and was now running late.

It was still dark, the sun just barely starting to rise, and I could see my breath before me in the air. The snow crunched under my boots and my nose and lungs stung as I inhaled. Walking from the dorms to the class wasn't a terrible walk. In the summer, at least. But by the time I sat down in the lecture hall and pulled out a notebook, I was seriously beginning to question the important of chemistry in my life.

It wasn't that I struggled with the class, I had come hung-over or drunk to the class many times before, and still managed to get 100% on quizzes and homeworks; it was just time consuming, although the alternative was online classes and it would be more productive to shoot myself than take those.

The professor droned on, and no matter how much I focused on scribbling down the PowerPoint notes, I struggled to keep my eyes open. _I skipped my coffee again_. The absence of the drink was probably going to cost me a productive day.

Something flickered in front of the projector screen, but it was gone before I knew it. _I should probably sleep more, four hours a night isn't cutting it._ I propped an elbow on the desk and rested my head against my hand; mainly so I wouldn't fall asleep on the desk. I didn't see anything unusual for the rest of the class. That is, until I walked back outside, the temperature only increased by a few degrees, and I saw a metal woman sitting at one of the tables in the perimeter of my vision, d_efinitely need more sleep_. Maybe I needed to party less, or stay sober for a while, I made a quick list of all the possible symptoms for the drugs I'd consumed within the last week. That sounds bad, I swear I'm not an addict, just a curious person who believes she has the right to explore the world.

* * *

I continued on to my next class, ignoring the metal creature and refusing to make eye contract. Had the art students set up some new sculptures? I heard a slight creak and turned around looking at the students filing out behind me as if I was looking for someone. As I turned, my eyes passed where it had been, it had only shifted positions; no one else seemed to notice the creature, I wasn't sure if it had eyes, but I was certain it was looking at me.

"Madison!" I called out to one of the other exchange students, we weren't the best of friends, but we'd spent nine hours on a plane together, so we knew each other's life stories. I jogged over to her, careful to avoid any ice, "did you understand the whole acid-base, hydrogen donor-acceptor thing in class today? I was almost passed out sitting there, and I don't recall a thing."

Madison brown eyes went wide for second before she replied, "really? I can do my best to explain it, but you've always been better at chem than me, Emily. I'll come by your room later tonight." Her voice was soft and cheerful and rang like bells in the cold air. She was about the same height as me, which is short, but maybe an inch or two taller, her brown curls bounced as we walked across the plaza to another building before splitting ways before heading to different classes.

I liked Madison and I liked most people in general, but sometimes I swear I felt like a ghost. Nevermind that my skin was very light and I used a foundation labeled alabaster, but I found it difficult to get peoples' attention. I slightly wondered if Madison would remember to help me, not that I actually needed it, but it sucks to be forgotten. That's probably why I acted how I did, people might not notice if I left a room, but they certainly knew who I, Emily Nikks, was when I spoke to them, thanks to my loud, smartass attitude. A therapist would call it a defense mechanism; my sorority advisor back home calls it an extroverted personality.

The day dragged on; in-between classes I grabbed some food and a latte with an extra shot of caffeine, but when I glanced out the window that thing was still there at the table. No one approached it or even seemed to notice it. I sipped my coffee and returned to my textbook, cautiously aware of the pickling feeling on my neck.

* * *

Back at the dorm, the sun was already down, and the terrible florescent lighting filled my small 6-by-8ft room as I unpacked my books and pulled out some extra blankets for the night. The weather forecaster claimed tonight was going to be a record breaking night for the cold here. For the record, I didn't choose Sweden by wearing a blindfold and throwing darts at a map, I had other ends to tie up, or explore would be another good word.

My adoptive parents told me when I was little my mother and father were Swedish. I believe the latter person is a guess, because my mother was the one who put me up for adoption, and there was no father listed on the birth certificate. While I loved my adoptive parents, this was something I needed to do for myself. I'd always wanted to meet my birth mom and find out why she didn't keep me. That sounds resentful, and I don't mean it like that, I'm just curious.

When I looked in the mirror, I could see a little Swedish there, my pale face was framed by long dirty blond hair with hazel eyes, but I was short, and Sweden has one of the highest height averages for its population in the world. I stuck my tongue out at my reflection and returned to my search for more blankets, the cold was already setting in, and fast.

* * *

At 2AM the fire alarm went off. I was a pretty heavy sleeper, but the wailing of the alarm had me jumping out of bed and throwing on clothes faster than a race horse. Yeah, I know you're supposed to just exit the building in case of a fire, but seriously it's Sweden in the winter and night. Choosing between a fire and freezing in the cold waiting for said fire to be put

out is only picking the lesser of the two evils. Within 30 seconds, I had three layers of clothes on and was exiting the building like every other student.

"It's a false alarm," a kid said next to me, talking to his friend, "someone burned popcorn I think." _You got to be kidding me_, I wanted to slap my hand against my forehead. Legally we are all adults and can drink in this country, but for the love of Christ we can't make popcorn. I moved towards the back, making room for more people as they filed out of the building, not really thinking. That was when I felt my feet slip out from under me and my butt hit the ice-covered pavement.

"Hey, you okay?" Someone said next to me, holding out a hand. I took it, and he helped pull me to my feet.

"Thanks, and I'm fine," I replied, my brain was still at least 75% asleep and any longer conversation than that wasn't a possibility. I looked around. The alarm had stopped, and the campus police were searching the building, just in case. It was freezing out, I wrapped my arms around my body and did my best to keep my teeth from chattering.

"Alright everyone, you can-", but that was all I heard the man say, because somewhere from behind someone pulled me back, covering my mouth and grabbing my arms. They said something gruffly but I couldn't understand. I kicked and squirmed, but then something hit me on the side of my head, a loud clunking sound and everything became blurry as it dragged me away from the crowd.

* * *

Everything was hazy; my eyes couldn't focus. Even the ground seemed to move beneath my hands as I tried to push myself off the earth. My head throbbed, and I swore I could see drops of blood splash on the ground below me. There was no snow on the ground, and instantly felt hot in all my layers. _What happened? Where am I?_ Even just thinking the words caused excruciating pain.

"Why my dear, you're home." Something chattered above me, the voice was gruff, it wasn't male but it sounded mechanical, like a robot. I collapsed to the ground, hoping that if I kept still enough my vision would clear and I could get out of where ever I am quicker. Slowly my vision cleared and I could see that ugly metal face before me. I could only comprehend three words, which technically wasn't comprehending anything, _what the hell?_

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So there's the first chapter, something a little different, there's a lot of breaking the fourth wall in this, but it's something different? Reviews please, nothing nasty.


	2. Chapter 2

First, I'd like to say thanks for the reviews. I will admit, I might have uploaded the first chapter at 2 in the morning and may have slightly screwed up my editing process. I'll review and repost chapter one in the future eventually, I swear. Also, I don't own Star Wars.

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Chapter 2: Blood Ties

I could feel my pulse throbbing throughout my body. It was almost like a timer counting the seconds as they passed. I looked around from my position on the ground; there were trees, at least, I think they were trees. They were tall, with huge branches and thousands of leaves, but there was a metallic sheen to the plants that made them look razor sharp.

I turned back to the creature that had brought me here; and almost before I realized it, I pushed up on my hands, swung my body around and kicked it hard in the chest. There was a metal ring in the air, but I hardly noticed as I jumped to my feet and ran; of course, I had no idea where I was going, just away from whatever it was. There was some kind of high pitched wailing behind me, maybe it was screaming or yelling in anger. It didn't really matter, I just needed to get away; however, there were soon labored breathing behind me, it sounded kind of like a furnace or Darth Vader. Wow, I can't believe I just thought of that. I'm running for my life, and Darth Vader is chasing me. It's funny, because I don't remember taking shrooms before bed.

The trees became thicker and denser as I ran, dodging branches and exposed roots that threatened to knock me down or trip me. The sun was disappearing between the tree tops, making everything dim and sinister. Behind me, the creature clamored through the trees, it wasn't a huge creature, but it was bulky, its thicker build making it difficult to maneuver through the trees at a steady pace.

I felt a grin spread across my face, and I tried to remain focused on the surroundings. Watching my footing, ducking here, hoping over a root, veering left to slip by a massive metal tree. It came almost naturally to me. I felt something wet and sticky slide down my face and between my lips; the taste of metal and salt reminded me I was still bleeding, and I couldn't keep this up forever. I needed to ditch this thing and quickly. Preferably before I trip and pass out.

I rubbed my hand across my forehead, glancing at it for only a second to confirm my worry. I had lost a lot of blood, and ever worse it was dripping everywhere. I just have this weird feeling that there are much worse things I could be dealing with if they catch the scent of blood. A shiver ran up my spine at the thought, then I dove right to barely avoid colliding with a tree branch. I swear that tree took a swing at me.

I wiped my face with my sleeve again to keep the blood and sweat out of my eyes. The labored heavy breathing behind me was getting closer. So either it was speeding up, or I was slowing down; I figured it was the latter of the two. I focused on the path ahead; that was my mistake really, because as I leaped over a log in front of me, I was unable to avoid the branch that swung at me from the left, which knocked me mid-leap out of the air, and onto the ground a few feet back from where I had been.

I groaned in pain, but still managed to stumble to my feet and take a few quick steps before something wrapped around my ankle pulling me down to the ground. I tried to lean right so that the majority of my weight would come down on my side. It worked, but still hurt like a bitch.

The breathing was almost on top of me, I struggled, grabbing at the ropes, or were they vines, seriously what did I take before bed? I tried to unwind them, tear through them, scratch at them but they only wrapped tighter, making me gasp in pain. I opened my mouth to scream, the noise was loud, but at the same time muffled by the dense trees. I screamed as loud as I could, till my throat was raw and my own ears stung. That is, until another vine wrapped around my neck and pulled me back against the ground. It wound its way across my mouth, prevent any noise. Then it covered my nose so I couldn't breathe. I couldn't help but panic. I struggled relentlessly till tears stung my eyes, and mixed with the blood that was still seeping from whatever wound I had.

The clunking were soon louder than ever, as my pursuer came to stand above me; its eyes fierce yet curious as it watched my struggles become increasingly weaker. Black dots clouded my vision until everything was dark; my lungs and throat seemed to spasm at the need for oxygen, and then, there was nothing.

* * *

When I awoke, a good portion of my attention was acknowledging the soft bed I lay on and the silky sheets that wrapped me in a warm cocoon. So it was just a dream, I yawned and turned my head to the side, a sharp pain ran through my head and down my vertebral column; that was when reality hit.

It couldn't have been just a dream, because that would mean I'd wake up in my dorm bed, which was so hard and lump that it amazed me every morning that I got a decent amount of sleep, while also making me thing of the future medical bills I would pay for back problems.

"I'm still here," I mumbled. The words were barely audible, and my throat was raw and sore as I spoke, but at least the pesky trees hadn't crushed my vocal folds. I wiggled my fingers and toes, then my wrists and ankles. Cautiously, I moved my limps to make sure everything still work. They were sore, but not broken, which means I could find a way out of here. I sat up slowly, and although the light headedness was unnerving, I removed the numerous sheets and blankets and swung my feet to the ground, the tiles cold against my bare skin.

Looking around the rest of the room, I tried to find my belongings as I rummaged through every cabinet, draw, and little nook in the room but nothing was to be found. Well, if they figure I'm not going to leave with no shoes, then they have another thing coming. I headed towards a door, threw it open only to face the gigantic backside of some kind of guard, although whatever is eight feet tall, I have no idea. Quickly, I slammed it shut before it could turn around, and I locked the door for good measure. Even though it most likely had the key.

Fine. Time to improvise. I went towards the window, a large stained glass work of art that provided elegance to the room, but also blocked any view of the outside world, and searched the seal for some kind of latch, but to no avail. If I broke it how long would I have till the guard came in? Would he hear it? I pondered the question as I looked around the room for something to throw. Come to think of it, I don't even know what level I'm on. I could be five stories up for all I know. Nevertheless, I walked casually across the room to a vanity set, seriously do they think I look that bad, and opened one of the drawers far enough to lift it off its tracks. It wasn't heavy but it was metal, a silvery gold color that shined in the light.

Returning to the window I raised the drawer above my head and swung it as hard as I could; there was a shattering sound and I covered my face to avoid the glass, but when I looked up, it was only to see the window in pristine condition and the drawer in multiple pieces on the floor. "Seriously, what is wrong with this place?" I groaned, turning back towards the door, guess it's time for plan B or C or whatever plan I'm on.

But there was no other plan, because behind me stood a tall young blond woman with wide eyes and a slightly parted mouth, translation being a very astonished and possibly soon to be pissed woman. Her lips closed into a hard line for a second and then relaxed, her expression becoming welcoming and even appreciative. Seriously, where the hell am I? A loony bin, because normal people don't smile at you when you just smashed their property.

"I'm so excited to meet you!" She exclaimed, her eyes were wide and sparkled like a clear lake in the summer; I scrunched up my face in confusion. Definitely a loony bin. "Oh, I'm so sorry, it's just that we've been searching for you for so long, and I've gotten ahead of myself. My name is Megan, and unbeknownst to you, I'm your half-sister."

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I guess I'm sort of into cliffhangers for this story. The chapters are shorter than normal for me but hopefully they'll pick up a bit as the story progresses. Anyways, reviews please! They always help.


	3. Chapter 3

I'm back, sorry for the long break, this story will probably be pretty sporadic (I'm taking 20 credits this semester) but I'll update as soon as I can.

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Chapter 3: My Sister, The Iron Queen

The awkward silence that hung in the room didn't do the scene justice. Between Meghan's smiling, excited face, the towering guard behind her, and my dropped jaw, we probably looked like something out of a badly written soap opera. When you add in the metal contraption that kidnapped me, chased me through the woods, and the evil trees, it could easily be mistaken for wonderland too.

"Well," I started, I had fantasized about meeting my family, mainly my biological parents, for quite some time, but this scenario had never crossed my mind. "As lovely as this is, I, unfortunately, have an anatomy exam coming up, which if I don't pass, will leave me with a large, ugly red F on my transcript." My voice was awkward as my brain attempted to unscramble the words in my head. "So if you don't mind," I gestured towards the door, and the big guard.

Meghan's eyes went wide, like she was trying to process the meaning of my words. Then quicker than lightning, her expression changed to that of one full of enlightenment, kindness, and concern, much to my dismay.

"Of course," She said the words as if trying to sympathize with me, but her tone held a regretful tone in it. "But we can't let you leave, you're in danger," She began, her clear blue eyes looked frantic. Of course, that was probably the result of the grade A bitch face I was giving her. "Look, there's a lot to explain, and I swear I will, you just have to give me a chance." Meghan finished, her lips trembled as she pleaded with me.

"Your majesty, perhaps now isn't the best time," The guard started, but Meghan quickly raised her hand to silence him.

"Now is the only chance we'll get. It's only a matter of time till others find her," Meghan's words were final, even I felt inclined to listen. "Like I said, there's a lot to discuss, perhaps you would feel more comfortable if you've eaten. I've arranged for some food from the mortal world to be delivered for you,"

She paused for a minute at my dumbfounded look, "Or well, I guess there really is no right time or place to start, but look, this place, this land you're in now, is called the Nevernever, specifically, you're in the Iron realm, which is ruled, by well, me." She paused, while I tried to translate her words. So what she really must mean, is that I've accidently been admitted to a psychiatric hospital, and the nurses here clearly aren't very strict about their patient's medication, and now one has gotten into my room. I must have looked like I wasn't buying it, because she decided to continue in her efforts to convince me to let go of my sanity.

"I know it's a lot to take in, Emily, especially under the circumstances, but please you have to believe me." Her voice was soft, like she was trying to calm a rabid animal. I mentally scoffed at the insult. "Anything I can do to convince you, I'll do it, but this isn't something you'll get away from by going back to school. I was only the first to find you, there are others, dangerous fey who have started to take notice of you-"

"Wait," I interrupted, my fingers pressed to my forehead as I tried to think, "Did you just say fey? Like as in faery? Like Tinkerbell or something?" By the looks of horror and disgust on both Meghan's and the guard's faces I'm guessing they were pretty insulted by that. "I guess that answers the last question," I muttered.

Meghan pulled herself together quickly, "Yes, we are fey. Technically, I'm only half, but because of particular circumstances that are unimportant at the moment, I took over as queen of the Iron realm, which also granted me a sort of immortality. But you," I'm pretty sure she was only pausing for dramatic effect, "are not the same case."

"I thought we were sisters," I cut in.

"Half-sisters," Meghan corrected.

"So what? We're related on one side of our parentage, hence the half," I annunciated my words for effect.

Meghan looked hesitant, as if she wasn't sure how much to reveal. I could tell she was biting the inside of her cheek, trying to think things over. "We have the same lineage on our paternal side," she paused, the words were awkward and off beat, like someone who had stage fright, and was trying to recover from an embarrassing mistake in a presentation.

I sighed. "Look, I get it. Daddy apparently isn't a fantastic father figure. I can read the expression on your face; however, I really wasn't kidding about that exam. As fun as this little side show has been, I need to get back to reality, like now." I let the words settle in the air, it couldn't have been clearer that I was done with this conversation.

"Unfortunately,-"

"No, don't start with that shit. I have friends, a wonderful adoptive family, and a life back home. That's where I belong, not here." I cut her off. I almost regretted it, the pained expression on Meghan's face was so hurt I felt it.

"I could send you back with an escort, if that's what you would really like," Meghan said, more to herself than to me. I had a feeling she was trying to think up an alternative plan, because it seemed her original plan, and her back-up plan, and the back-up for the back-up plan had failed.

"You want to do that, that's fine. Whatever gets me home the fastest, but the minute I step foot on that campus, all of this is gone. I don't want anyone following me, spying on me, or protecting me from that point on."

Meghan looked horrified, "You can't, the other fey, they'll come after you, and-"

"Uh-huh, yeah sure. Look, before you, I've never seen anything even similar to that thing you sent after me. At least not outside fantasy books. I've never seen a pixie, an elf, a satyr, or even a freaking hobbit in my life." I stared her down, letting my words sink in.

"Those creatures would be the least of your problems," The guard muttered under his breathe. Funny, I had completely forgotten he was there.

"Well," I waited for Meghan to answer; she looked completely lost in her thoughts, like something I had said didn't make sense. Finally, she looked up at me. Her expression was calm, but I could see in her eyes that something was very wrong.

"I'll have an escort ready for you in a bit, are you sure you don't want anything to eat?" She asked, her words were soft, as if her mind was in another place.

"Nope," I answered and sat down on the bed, content to wait out my hopefully short stay in the Nevernever.

* * *

When I arrived back at my school, it was the middle of the night, and probably fifty degrees below freezing. Quickly, I walked across the campus as fast as possible, while barely managing to keep from cracking my head open on the ice covered ground. My "escort" followed a few steps behind, but other than that, he kept pace with me.

I dug through my pockets, praying my key card hadn't fallen out during my little detour. When I managed to grasp the plastic card with my numb fingers, I was so relieved I thought I might cry. I bounded up the stairs to my building, and slid the card through the electronic slot, the light turned green, and I opened the door.

"Well, this is where we say goodbye," I said dramatically, eyeing my escort, who looked like he couldn't care less. I waited another second, and then spoke, "What? No words of wisdom? No warning of how large of a mistake I'm making, and how I'll soon regret giving up the protection of the almighty Iron Queen?" The sarcasm dripping from my words.

He eyed me curiously. Well I shouldn't say that. He looked at me, his silver eyes held my gaze for a few seconds before he spoke, "I think you should learn how to hold your tongue, before someone cuts it off." His words were sharper than the icicles that hung from the roof.

"I take it, you don't like me," I commented, not really expecting a response. Standing against the black of the night, he was almost as white as the snow. He looked me over again, and I swear I saw some miniscule show of emotion, I just have no idea what.

"You remind me of someone," He said almost absentmindedly. I didn't have anything to say to that; I turned and walked through the door leaving the faerie behind me.

I trudged up the stairs, and down the hallway towards my room. It was near pitch black in my bedroom, but I didn't bother to turn on the lights. I stripped off my clothes, leaving myself in a tank top and panties, and crawled beneath the covers. I definitely had a well-deserved sleep coming. I rolled over, trying to make myself as comfortable as possible on the cheap mattress, when I ran into something hard. My dazed, almost asleep brain barely registered it. That is, until it spoke.

"Do you always cuddle up to strange men in your bed?" I reeled back so fast, I'm amazed I didn't fall off the bed. I scramble out of bed, and flicked the light switch to reveal a guy probably about my age, tan and fairly tall, I could guess by the fact that his length was almost the same as my bed. He had red hair and emerald eyes.

"I mean, I don't mind at all, but we should probably be on a first name basis at the very least." He spoke again. There was nothing menacing in his voice or his demeanor, but I could feel the blood drain from my face. I don't know how I knew, but I knew he wasn't human, he had to be fey. After everything I've been through today, I couldn't help it. I screamed.

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So what did everyone think? I'm trying to let small amounts of information out at a time, so the plot doesn't feel too fast, but if it's too slow, let me know. Please, review! Also, advice is always helpful.


	4. Chapter 4

I know it's been a while, but here's another chapter finally!

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Chapter 4: Stranger in my Bed, Trust me, it's not how it sounds

"Okay, we don't need any of that," I heard his voice from behind me as he clamped a hand over my mouth, muffling my scream. Reflexively, my hands flew to the one he had over my mouth, trying to pry it away, but it must have been predictable since he grabbed both my wrists in his other hand. "Look, I'm really not here to hurt you, so if we could just talk," I kicked backward at his shin, and he drew in a breath, "Seriously, the things Oberon makes me do," he muttered.

The next thing I knew, I was being thrown on the bed, hands above my head, while my legs were pinned beneath his. All in what felt like less than a second. He still had one hand over my mouth, but at least now I could see his face. I struggled for a minute, finding no weakness in his hold, before giving up and glaring at him. Although, I'm pretty sure the effect was lost due to my unfortunate position.

He smirked and rolled his eyes at me, "If I take my hand away, are you going to scream?" He asked, I looked back up at him as defiantly as possible. He sighed, and slowly raised the hand that had been over my mouth; when I didn't try anything he seemed to relax a bit. "Okay, so where were we? Oh right introductions, I'll go first. My name is Robin, more precisely Robin Goodfellow, but you can call me Puck."

That was when I flipped him off me and onto the floor. He hit the ground with a loud thud, but I barely registered what happened after that as I leaped off the bed, towards the door, and grabbed my jacket on the way out for some modesty as I practically flew down the hall. I could hear someone stumbling and cursing behind me, but I didn't look back. I reached the end of the hall, and started down the stairs. I slightly regretted not grabbing shoes, but then if I had, I probably wouldn't have made it this far.

I went down two floors, and entered another level of the building. Although I couldn't hear the guy, I'm sure he was right behind me. I grabbed the handle of another dorm and rattled the door handle, then quickly knocked, glancing back for my pursuer. I turned back to the door, and thank God, it opened and I pushed the person aside, stepped through, slammed the door, and locked it.

"Emily, what the hell? It's 3am, what is wrong with you?"

"Good to see you too, Madison." I muttered, I leaned against the door and slid to the ground in exhaustion. With the lack of sleep and the adrenaline rushing out of my system, I was amazed I made it this far.

"Where have you been?" She asked, her face looked worried.

"What do you mean?"

"Uh you've been gone four days," Madison stated, I scrunched up my face in confusion, "You haven't been in class, where were you?"

"Um," my brain scrambled for an answer, "I was uh, back home. Yeah, family problems." Which I guess, was the truth. Four days? How was that possible, a day at the most maybe. My brain reeled, and I suddenly felt sick.

"Emily, here, get up," Madison grabbed my hand at lead me over to a couch, "sit, and let me get you some water," she looked back at me, concern on her face, "and maybe a bucket."

Let's see if I missed four days, then I had successfully missed a psych class, two English classes and, now I really wanted to be sick, my anatomy exam. There was no way I was passing the class now. Madison returned with water, which she handed me, and a trashcan that she hesitantly placed on the ground next to me, almost as if I might be insulted by its presence.

"What happened?" She asked, the words shattered the silence that hung in the air. How much could I actually tell her without getting myself locked up in a padded cell? "Where are your clothes?" She gestured to my shirt under the jacket.

"I was sleeping" I muttered, "and there was someone in my bed." The whole idea sounded terrible.

"You mean like someone you were sleeping with?"

"What? No! Not like that, or well if you were thinking it was like that, then no it wasn't. There was just this guy in my bed." I clarified, but then it probably just sounded worse.

"So there was just some random guy in your bed," she stated, her convinced me that she didn't actually believe it.

"Yes," damn, I hope wasn't sounding as stupid to her as I was to myself. If only I could tell her everything, maybe that would clear things up, but I couldn't risk it. "Can I just sleep on your couch tonight?" I asked, desperation in my voice.

"Yeah, you can do that. I'll grab you some blankets and you can borrow some clothes," She got up to get everything, "maybe in the morning your head will be clearer." She set the supplies down next to me, wandered back to her room, and looked back, "goodnight, Emily." She said, and shut the door.

"Night," I muttered to no one, I set the now empty glass down on a table and pulled the blankets up high enough that they covered the lower part of my face. I felt like a scared little child. I had a clear view of the front door where I lay, and I scanned every single inch of it probably a dozen times, as if that would help reinforce it. But no one came through.

* * *

Despite everything, I slept soundly, that is until I felt like I was in the middle of an earthquake and the building was going to fall down around me.

"Emily, wake up!" I opened my eyes and yawned. Madison had stopped shaking me, her anxiety clear on her face in spite of the fact that she was fully dressed, with hair combed, and one-hundred percent completely ready for the day.

"What?" I muttered and turned away from her, trying to enjoy my last few moments of peace.

"We have class in twenty minutes, I've been trying to wake you for the past ten." She said, urgency in her voice. I swear, hell would freeze over before Madison missed a class.

"Go without me," I muttered through the fabric of the blanket.

"It's our anatomy class, you said you were gone for a family emergency. If you have a note, then maybe Kyles will let you make up the test." She explained; at her words, I felt my body falling into the familiar motions of getting dressed. There was a small voice in the back of my head that reminded me I didn't have any note to give because, 'my sister kidnapped me and dragged me into a magical fantasy world' probably wouldn't be a legitimate 'family emergency.'

I ran water over my face and finger combed my hair into something that looked half way decent. "Alright, I'm ready." Madison looked slightly appalled at what I called ready, but she could deal with it.

We trudged across a courtyard to a massive, old building that looked somewhat like a catholic church on the outside, but on the inside it was as modern as ever with lab equipment, lecture halls, and even digital clocks. I could feel the nerves building up as we got closer to Kyles class; I glanced at Madison out of the corner of my eye. I was going to have to come up with another story, and fast.

We entered the class, and to my dismay Madison grabbed my arm and dragged me over to the professor's podium where he was setting up his PowerPoint for the class.

"Dr. Kyles, Emily here needs you to reschedule her exam. You see, there was an emergency with her parents that she had to attend to, she's been gone four days, and needs permission to make everything up." Madison explained, while I just stood there, and felt the fiery gaze of Dr. Kyles, like he could sense the lie.

"And does Miss Nikks have some form of note? It would have to be a doctor's note, military correspondence, or obituary article. There are no other excuses for missing this class." Every word he said, was like a slap to the face. Madison looked at me expectantly; I dug through my pockets, then opened my backpack, attempting to put on a good show for her.

"Uh, I'm sorry I must have misplaced it," I muttered, trying to sound frantic and keep up the charade. I looked back at Kyles, hoping I had my best apologetic expression on my face.

"Hey this wouldn't happen to be yours, would it?" Instantly I froze at the voice. I didn't even need to turn around, I knew who it was; nevertheless, I felt my head turn as he approached.

He was dressed like any other college kid, jeans and a hoodie, but I could have recognized him anywhere. He help out a slip of paper to me, and I looked at it like it might bite. Then I noticed it was blank, there wasn't anything on it. What kind of trick was this guy trying to pull? I looked up to meet his gaze. He smiled; I glared.

"Take the god damn note, Emily," Madison hissed. What note?

She snatched the note out of his hand and gave it to Dr. Kyles. "It must have slipped out of her pocket or something. See it's all there." Madison continued. Kyles inspected the piece of paper. Seriously, was Madison blind? There wasn't anything written on the paper.

"I see, I'm sorry about your mother, Emily. Cancer isn't easy to get through. You can call the testing center and make an appointment to retake the test. I'll open last week's homework for you as well so you have a chance to turn it in." He said, and put the piece of paper in a file. I looked at him and then Madison and finally, at Puck. He gave me smirk and there was a glint in his eyes that said he knew something I didn't. Although, I'm really not sure I wanted to know what. "You can all take your seats." Kyles said.

Madison grabbed the last seat in the front row, so I trailed my way to the back, and unfortunately, Robin followed. It's not like he could actually do anything, we're in public, with three hundred other students as witnesses.

I found a seat in the last row and Robin snagged the seat next to mine. Studiously, I took out a notebook and pen and diligently started taking notes, while Puck grabbed an apple out of his bag and took a bite out of it.

"Do you mind?" I whispered, pointing at the fruit.

"Not at all," He answered and leaned back in his chair and propped his feet on the back of the chair in front of him. Although that one was empty, I have no idea how no one but me seemed to notice. "Now, answer me this, why would you want to sit here for an hour, pointlessly trying to remember a hundred different things you're bound to forget, when I can think of at least a dozen actually worthwhile and exciting things you could be doing?"

"Then why don't you go do them?" I responded, not taking my eyes off the PowerPoint slide.

"I didn't say me, I said you," He took another bite out of the apple, "but with me, of course." I refused to let my mind trail down that path.

"I doubt anything with you would be worthwhile." I sniped back.

"Well I have plenty of references that would give me a fantastic review if you want to ask around; but for starters, I could take you to meet your father," He said casually; I felt like I might have a heart attack.

"I've had enough family reunions to last me a few decades," I muttered, while trying to remain focused on my notes. I guess Puck got fed up with me ignoring him, because he plucked the pen out of my hand and tossed it half way across the lecture hall, only for it to hit one poor soul on the head. The guy whipped his head around, his eyes searched wildly for the thrower. Of course, his eyes landed on me, how else could my day get any worse?

I shrugged and mouthed sorry and silently pleaded forgiveness. The guy mouthed what I'm pretty sure was 'bitch' and turned around. I glared accusingly at Puck.

"They can't see me" Puck said conversationally, when I didn't say anything he continued, "at least, not the way any of them would see you. They'll see my physical form or whatever I want them to see, but they'll quickly forget my existence and never pay any close attention to me."

"Is that was you did with the note? Kyles and Madison saw what you wanted them to see?"

"Did you notice that?" For some reason, I felt like I had just walked into a trap. Either way I answered the question I'd be outing myself and acknowledging the faerie world.

"I'm just guessing," I replied; lame defense, I know, but this guy puts me on edge.

"I saw you stare at that scrap of paper for over thirty seconds, you noticed." Robin declared, then he turned to look at me full on, "I told you I wanted to talk to you,"

"Well, you lost that chance when you broke into my room and attacked me." I replied.

"You screamed"

"You were in my bed"

"It was 3AM, where else was I going to be?" He said it like it was an honest excuse; I sighed and turned back towards the professor. "You can see through the glamour now." He mentioned, trying to spike my interest. I wasn't buying it; I closed my eyes and refused to look at him. "Do you ever wonder why you never saw the fey before?" I looked at him out of the corner of my eye, but that was it, nothing more I was done with this.

He sat up, took his feet off the chair in front of him, and casually stretched his arms and hung them over the backs of the chairs beside him, which included mine. "It interests me, and of course, it interests you, because you think your world is starting to fall apart when really you're just seeing more clearly; it's just that no one knows why."

"If you can't get comfortable in that seat then maybe you should find a different one," I commented dryly.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to draw any attention here. I'm not the one who will get noticed. You are," he paused, and I glanced at him. He had a gleam in his eyes, and a smirk playing at his lips that said he was up to no good, "so I'd recommend that you stop blushing." He finished; I could feel heat rise to my cheeks, there was no possible way I was blushing.

Before I thought twice about it, I grabbed my notebook and slapped him with it against his chest. Unlucky for me, the noise attracted almost everyone in the room, and while maybe they did see Puck, their attention was one hundred percent focused on me.

"Emily is there a problem?" Kyles asked; I wasn't sure if my face could get any redder but I think it just did. I glanced at Madison who had a puzzled expression on her face, and then at Puck who was obviously enjoying the whole scene.

"No, no at all sir," I answered back, my voice an octave higher than it normally was, "I was just uh, leaving. I'm leaving." I don't know why I answered with that. It's college; I can leave anytime I want.

Kyles didn't say anything he just picked up where he left off in the lecture. I grabbed my bag, shoved the notebook in and rose from my seat. Sadly, Puck followed, and we exited through the back entrance.

"So now that you don't have anything to waste your life on like classes or," Puck started.

"No, just no." I walked as fast as my legs would carry me, but Puck kept pace easily. "You can go back to where ever you came from now," I didn't even turn to look at him, I just kept my eyes focused ahead of me. After a few moments of silence, Puck grabbed my arm and spun me around to face him.

"Look, I'm trying to be a nice guy, but this really isn't a choice. You're coming back to the Nevernever with me, and I'd prefer it to be willingly." I tried to pull away at his words, but his grip on my arms was too strong. "If you don't, even worse creatures are going to come after you than that Iron fey that grabbed you the other night."

I hesitated at his words, "who else is looking for me?" I tentatively asked, my breathe fogged in the air, which only made me more aware of the chill in the air, despite the sky being completely blue with the sun out.

"If you come with me, I'll tell you," he answered; like I'm really that stupid.

"How do I know you're not the one who's worse?"

"Well, I don't have scales or fangs, I don't bite, at least not too hard, I didn't drag you off in the middle of the night despite the temptation, I'm not tricking you with any magic. Although, I guess I did do that to your friend. Oh, and I haven't killed or eaten you, do you need any more proof?" He kept his voice light, and I'm certain he was mocking me.

"Nope," I said and spun around towards another building, catching him off guard only for a second before he stepped in front of me and blocked my path again.

"Now what?"

"I'm still not going," I clarified, and tried to step around him; he mirrored me and grabbed my wrist to keep me in place.

"Yes, you are," I could hear the hint of agitation in his voice, "look, if I don't bring you back, then I'm going to get turned into a bird or some other small, helpless animal for the next few centuries, so I repeat, you're going." Then, faster than I could see, he hoisted me up and threw me over his shoulder. My bag hit the ground with a dull thud, but he didn't bother to pick it up.

"What the hell?" I yelled. I whipped my head around praying that someone was seeing this. Although there were a few brave souls out on the grounds today, none of them even looked in my direction. I pounded my fist against his shoulder blades but it didn't seem to do anything.

"There's no reason to be screaming in my ear, they can't hear you, let alone see you." He muttered as he started walking towards another building. I think it was the engineering building, but that wasn't really what mattered to me. The fact that he managed to keep a brisk pace without leaning to the opposite side to compensate for my weight, told me he was a lot stronger than he had looked.

"I said I wasn't going," I declared, and slammed my fist into his back again. I think I felt him wince, but his grip didn't loosen.

"One thing I've learned over a long, long life is that what humans say is almost never what they do, but then I guess you could argue that you're not human, but you still kind of are, at least a little bit." He spoke as casually as he would about the weather, "unfortunately, I wasn't kidding about much worse creatures coming after you. Not that I couldn't stay here and defeat any creatures that came after you, it's just that it's time consuming, and it didn't really work out for me in the end the last time I tried that method."

"Or you could just leave me here, go back home, and forget this ever happened." I mimicked his lighthearted tone.

"I already told you why I can't. It can be very useful being a bird, but I prefer my natural form." He replied as he climbed a flight of stairs and entered the building.

"Why can't anyone see me?" I asked; my abdomen was starting to hurt from the undesired position I was in.

"Because I don't want them to."

"The last time you used magic, it didn't work on me." I shot back.

"Well, I didn't use it 'on' you last time, I used it on your friend and professor. Besides, it's glamour, not magic."

"I don't care if you call it hocus pocus, just put me down!" I yelled again. Then to my astonishment, he put me down, and then shoved me into a utility closet. He shut the door behind him, "I'd hate to break it to you, but this isn't the Nevernever." I said, as I tried to maneuver around him. The space was tight, and since I was also trying to avoid falling butt first into the mop bucket, he easily grabbed me around my waist, and turned me in another direction.

"You're going to want to go through this door," He said, he almost sounded bored from where he stood behind me. Not that I really cared, I'm just really good at picking up on other people's emotions and tone of voice. I don't know if I was surprised or scared that there was another door in the tiny room; it wasn't like the other doors in the building that were made of heavy plastic and metal. It was a dark wood, barely visible in the dim light. "Anytime," he said as he pushed me forward, his hand warm against my lower back. Seriously, what's wrong with me? Of all the things I notice, or should be noticing, I notice how warm his hands are? God, someone slap me.

I reached forward and opened the door. How the hell was there a tunnel inside my school? The thought was brief in my mind, as I stepped forward. The air was actually warm and even inviting, which didn't make sense to me, but I figure at this point I'll just have to go with it.

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Hope you enjoyed it, also, reviews are always welcome! :)


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Summer Court

"I'm going back," I declared and briskly turned around as soon as I saw what Puck called the summer court. Sure it was nice, lots of happy fey dancing and enjoying the sun, with hundreds of different species of wild flowers surrounding them. The sky over head was bluer than sapphires, and the sun shone brightly overhead. It wasn't an intense heat, but its rays seemed to reach inside me, warming my body from the inside out. Once again, Puck sighed and grabbed my arm to spin me around.

"For the twentieth time, no you're not." His voice had lost its optimistic tone around the tenth time he had had to turn me around, and I was beginning to wonder how much longer it would take before he would break. Of course, since I had already glimpsed the glass dagger at his side, I probably didn't want to risk it; but then, I've never been one to use caution. Rather than letting go this time, he kept a tight grip on my upper arm, and I'm sure even if I dropped to the ground he would drag me the rest of the way. I tried pulling away from him a few times, but he tugged me in the opposite direction, and again his strength surprised me. I kept forgetting that he was a lot stronger than his tall, lean frame suggested.

"I'm pretty sure you have me confused with someone else. For instance, summer isn't really my thing. You may have noticed this when you found me in Sweden!" I exclaimed only to feel a hand shove me forward.

"Your stubbornness only makes me even more certain that I have the right person. I bet you inherited it from your father," was his only comment; I sighed, but kept walking forward. As we walked I tried to keep track of where we were going, so that I'd have a trail to follow when I made my escape; however, my attempts proved futile. There were too many twists and turns and there were no land markers in sight.

"How much longer?" I asked, trying to sound uninterested.

"Time isn't really a thing here." I couldn't see his face too well since I was trailing behind, but I'm sure he was smirking; I rolled my eyes.

"Fine, how much further?"

"We're already here," he sounded way too pleased with himself at that statement. I glanced around; this time I look more closely at my surroundings. The fey had increased in number around us. They were no longer going about their own business, but instead were watching in awe as Puck and I strode down what seemed to be a road.

Sure enough, there was some kind cobble stone path beneath our feet. Covered in leaves and flowers and branches, but it was none-the-less a road. When I looked closer at the trees and bushes I could see that there were in fact some kind of make shift houses hidden within. There were even some fey flittering about that were small enough to use the trees alone as houses. As we continued walking, the houses got bigger, and soon we seemed to be in some sort of town center, with fey walking, flying, and slithering in every direction around us. But these ones were too busy to pay us any special attention.

"Um where's here?" I asked as I watch one fey pass in front of us; only to discover that the feet that peaked out from under her dress were not feet at all, but were actually hooves.

"Your home; the summer court." Puck answered; his voice had lost its exasperated tone or maybe I just wasn't paying close enough attention. I let my curiosity get the better of me. Off to the right there was another, what are they called? Satyrs? Playing some kind of sweet music, and two other creatures dancing to the tune. Their bodies twisted and spun around each other; smiles from ear to ear of each face, and bliss in their eyes. To the left, a group of, well I don't really know what they were; they had wings, but they certainly weren't anything like Tinkerbell. The creatures were thin and willowy, their wings were like smoke around their bodies as they sipped at some golden liquid. It looked like Champaign to me. They laughed at whatever they were talking about, their voices were high and soft; alluring even.

"I wouldn't if I were you," Puck's voice brought me back. I hadn't realized I had stopped walking, even my breath caught. I breathed deeply, trying to ignore the different scents that filled my nose and lungs, I wasn't sure where it was coming from but it smelled like heaven. Someone one must have been cooking, but I could smell a perfume in the air at the same time; or maybe it was one of the many types of flowers that decorated what I could only guess was a town center. Puck grabbed my arm again and I jumped; for the second time in less than a minute he brought me back to reality. His hand gripped my forearm but was much looser than it had been before. "I shouldn't have brought you through this way," he muttered and pulled me in the direction we had been going.

As we walked I continued to look around in amazement. Everything was so colorful and lively. It all felt overly vibrant and alive, even the air had a certain joyfulness about it, kind of like a dream where nothing feels real, but I could feel the ground beneath my feet and Puck's hand still on my arm. As we continued through the town, I became more aware that it wasn't just me looking at the fey and their city; they were looking back. Curious and mischievous eyes followed me; suddenly the place was more threatening that joyful.

"I don't think they like me," I said quietly.

"I wouldn't say that. They see a strange girl wandering through the middle of the summer court with absolutely no knowledge of where she is or who surrounds her. If you're not careful, some will take advantage of the opportunity." His words were matter of fact, and there was a seriousness laced in his words that grabbed my attention.

"Opportunity to do what?" I asked.

"Mostly harmless tricks, others you don't want to know." He answered; I glanced at him, but I couldn't read any emotions. From that point on, I kept my gaze ahead and resisted every urge to go back and join the other fey.

Soon, the music became softer, and the fey became sparse as we moved into what I could only describe as upper-class housing. I know, how "mundane" of me, but seriously that's what it was like. Towering trees shaded multistory homes made out of stone and plants. Some even appear to have at least some attempt at landscaping, with vibrant tropical flowers and gardens that bloomed with dozens of fruits. And then there was a gate.

I don't mean a little white picket fence gate. I mean like a seriously tall, at least three stories, gate decorated with gems that gleamed in the light and were placed in gold settings across the bars that pierced the sky like spears. Puck wrenched one door to the gate open with his free hand and ushered me forward with his other, before slipping through and closing the gate behind him.

Glancing back to look through the bars, certain that I had just walked into my newest prison, I was stunned to see so many of the fey behind me. I was frozen in place; they had been so quiet. A voice in the back of my mind wanted to mention just how deadly they could have been to me, but I stamped it down with what remained of my stubbornness.

I tore my gaze away from them with sheer will and followed Puck, actually choosing to stick close to him. "You said you were bringing me home?" I spoke.

"And I am," He waved his arm in front of us. Before us, a make shift palace rose from the ground. Stone towers were scattered across the building, covered in vines that seemed to be attempting to cover every inch of the building that they could. Fountains spouted sparkling blue water in the courtyard, with apple and pomegranate trees in full bloom scattered about. It was like walking into a fairy tale; which redundantly, I technically was. "Welcome home, princess."

It was like a spell had been broken, or maybe my mind had finally had enough for the day. Princess I am not. I don't think I've ever reacted so quickly in my life. I wrenched my arm out of Puck's hand and ran for the gate. My eyes wide and my mind refusing to process anything. I lunged for the gate, not even caring about the few dozen fey that were on the other side that might want to turn me into dinner. I wrapped one arm around the handle and pulled as hard as I could, it barely budged before I felt arms wrap around my arms and waist and pull me back.

"Now we were getting along so nice," I heard Puck grumble behind me. I kicked back at his shins, my heels hitting home and I could feel him cringe against me.

"Let me go!" I demanded, but his grip didn't loosen.

"And what? Let you be eaten by your father's own subjects?" Puck retorted; I whipped my head back, so that my skull collided with his face. "Fuck." His arms loosened and I ran in a new direction, opting for a path that led off to the right, following the fence and hoping to find another exit along the way.

But of course, this place never failed to have surprises. I didn't make it thirty seconds before coming across a pair of knights. I'm not even kidding you; they were full blown nights, decorated in gold and silver armor, at least six feet tall with weapons pointed right at me. Silently I weighed my options, surrender or risk becoming the special of the day on a stick.

I raised my hands in defeat, of course, who knew what this gesture meant here. but they seemed to understand. Then they turned behind themselves as something moved forward. It was obviously male and very tall. He wore colorful robes and a golden crown fashioned into branches that sat upon a head with hair as blond as mine. I swallowed down my nerves as realization set in. These weren't patrol guards; they were an escort.

"So," I spoke, my words were shaky and uneven, "do you prefer Your Grace, or daddy?"

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What'd you think? A lot of description I know and also kind of a filler chapter, but I really wanted to set the scene. Plus it's one in the morning where I live so it might also just be me rambling from sleep deprivation. Reviews please?


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Genes

When he didn't answer, I figured I must have the wrong person, and he probably thought that I had lost my mind. Which, lately, I sometimes thought so too. He continued to stare at me; I could see his eyes moving up and down as he analyzed every inch of me, his face expressionless the entire time. Some strange part of me felt a little sad, and also a little worried I had insulted him.

Then, I felt my arms wrenched behind my back, and pain seared through my shoulders at the movement. My legs threatened to buckle beneath me, but I managed to stay standing. I watched the man in front of me as his eyes moved to something higher up behind me.

"Robin I don't think that is necessary," He commented; then his face screwed up in confusion as he looked at who was behind me. I felt his grip on my wrists loosen, but he didn't let go. "Why is your face bleeding?" I suppressed a smile at the thought of my handy work.

"It's unimportant," I heard Puck mutter behind me; his voice was almost directly above me, which meant that he was definitely invading my personal space. He released my arms, and I quickly side stepped to get further away.

The man turned back to me, light green eyes that reflected more centuries than I could ever hope to see, looked back at me, until finally he spoke. "You can call me your father. To everyone else, I am king Oberon of the summer court. I'm glad Robin brought you back safely with what appears to be only minor discrepancies."

"Yeah, if that's what you call the years of therapy I'll need after this," Sometimes I really wish I could keep my mouth shut.

"Excuse me?" He asked, there was definitely shock in his tone, and I knew I had overstepped my boundaries. Way to go, I've only know my dad for two minutes and I'd already pissed him off. Not to mention he's a God damn king so he'd probably have my head chopped off or something like that.

"I'm just trying to say this is a lot to take in," I tried saving the situation, but even I had to admit it was a half-hearted attempt. Maybe if I acted like I didn't care, then they would drop me off in the human world and forget about my existence.

"Wait until you hear the rest of the story," Puck chimed in; I turned towards him to give him my best what's wrong with you look, and all I got back was a flash of smirk with a glint in his green eyes that spoke of mischief.

"I think it would be best if you leave us, Robin. My daughter and I have a lot to discuss before the festivities take place."

"Excuse me," I said, mimicking his earlier words, "but festivities?"

"Of course we're having a party," I rolled my eyes at Puck's voice, "It's not every day a long-lost daughter of the king shows up. Let alone in one piece." God, I wanted to smack him; but one look from Oberon and Puck shut his mouth. "Fine, if you need me, I'll be anywhere else but here," and with that, he turned down a path and disappeared from sight.

Oberon led me inside the um, well palace? Castle? Wasn't sure which it was. But anyways, Oberon led me inside the very large building, which I can only assume is his home and led me down a hall. The walls were covered in beautiful tapestries that depicted scenes from different eras, but all were summer. There was light that came in through the windows and some candles that burned along the walls.

"So," I started. Of all the people I imagined to be my father, this was never what I had imagined. In fact, if I had to make a list of suitable guesses at my parental figures, Kanye West would have come before this guy. "What's up?" How much more human can I get?

"You need to remain in the summer court." So it wasn't just enough to ignore my question, but now he's giving me orders? Who does he think he is?

"That's probably not going to happen. I don't mind stopping in for a visit every once in a while, maybe a holiday dinner here and there, but I have this really important thing called school, and it kind of decides whether I'll have a decent, mediocre life or if I'll end up living in a dumpster." I replied.

"A child of mine would never live in a dumpster," Oberon commented. "But you must stay here. I'm sure Robin mentioned that others are searching for you, and I can best protect you if you are in my domain. If Mab got a hold of you, or"

"What's a mab?" I interrupted.

"Mab is a woman. She is the queen of winter and has a distaste for anything remotely enjoyable. Like summer." Oberon clarified for me. Of course, now there's an evil queen in my life. How else could life get complicated?

"There are others who have become aware of your presence. I believe you had a run in with my elder daughter, Meghan, a little while back. I would say she's harmless, but since she now rules the Iron realm I can't say for sure that she never had her own intentions for you." He explained further.

"She had some monster drag me through the forest, knock me out, and then attempted to lock me away in a tower; however, she's very polite so you must have raised her right."

"Meghan's mother is human," He clarified.

"And so is mine, I'm assuming?"

"I thought she was human." I didn't know how to respond to that.

"Um, based on the fact that I don't have ears or a tail or well, you know, I was at least successfully conceived, I'd assume she was pretty human." This was becoming the most awkward conversation I've ever had in my life. Finding Puck randomly in my bed wasn't even this strange.

"She was the daughter of another fey. Her father was human and that's who she was raised with."

"Okay and this is a problem why?" I asked; we had come to the end of the fall and turned right around the corner only to find another hall as equally long. This place was a maze; I don't think Oberon has anything to worry about with me leaving. I'll never find my way out.

"Because your grandmother is one of my enemies. She never claimed her child until recently, specifically when she found out her child had had my child." I could feel a headache beginning at this point.

"My grandmother is Mab?" I tried to clarify.

"Mab is more of a necessary competitor in my life. She's been my enemy before, but that was hundreds of generations ago." Oberon had a scowl on his face that made me think otherwise, but I ignored it and bit my tongue to keep from saying something stupid.

"So my grandmother is…"

"Names have power," Oberon stated, the urge to be a smartass was almost too great for me to contain, "what matters is that you are here, with me, where she doesn't dare attempt to retrieve you." At this we stopped at a tall wooden door with vines carved into it laced with gold. "This will be your room. We've been expecting your arrival, so everything is made up and you should find everything you need."

"Is there a phone?" Once again I should have bit my tongue.

"There is no iron in this realm." He stated. His words were heavy with the decree of a king and even I knew there was no arguing.

"Alrighty then, I will see you later." I replied, trying to break the tension in the air.

"A handmaiden will come by shortly, as well as Lady Weaver to get your measurements and find you something suitable for tonight's event." Oberon commented as he turned and began to depart, "I will see you tonight, and please, watch your words. Others here won't be as lenient with you as I have."

I watched him turn the corner and listened until I couldn't hear footsteps. "Well that was the most perplexing conversation I've had in while," I said out loud. I opened the door to reveal a large room with a king size, four poster bed with silver silk drapes hanging down. There was a fire burning in the hearth on the other side of the room despite the fact that it was warm out. The fire didn't seem to give off any heat, and appeared to be for decoration purposes only. One wall was made up completely of windows framed in a deep chestnut, and in the center were two doors that opened up onto a balcony. There was a large dresser in the corner and a vanity next to it. "I could stay for a few days," I muttered as I opened and closed the drawers. In the vanity there was make-up and brushes and combs and anything I would need, apparently someone didn't like the way I present myself to the world, but in the dresser there was nothing. I inwardly gagged at the thought of getting fitted for all my clothes.

There was a door, that, when opened revealed a fully functional bathroom. How they pulled this off without iron impressed me, but it was gorgeous as much as I didn't want to admit. On one side sat a grand porcelain, claw foot tub big enough for more than one person. Not that I would be sharing with anyone ever. The fixtures appeared to be of copper or some other metal, and there were five or six lit candles that filled the room with the scent of roses. I turned to exit, when I almost ran face first into another girl.

"I'm so sorry, miss! I didn't mean to frighten you." The girls exclaimed. Her voice was high pitched but wasn't shrill. She was even shorter than myself and had curly brown hair and hazel eyes. She curtsied in front of me, which only made me feel more awkward. "I thought I might draw a bath for you, but you arrived early. My apologies, I'll start right away," she said as she tried to shuffle around me.

"I'm sorry but, who are you?" I asked. "Not to be mean or anything but I've had an eventful day."

"The girl's eyes widened and her lips parted in astonishment. "Once again I'm sorry, miss. Forgive my terrible manners, I'm Tansy, Oberon told me to attend to you."

"Oh, okay. Um yeah that's great." I blabbered on. "I've never had anyone attend to me before. Unless you count my adoptive parents whose attending attitude was 'suck it up' whenever I was sick."

"You wanted a bath, miss?" Tansy asked, her words were soft and meek.

"Sure that'd be great. I didn't get a shower the other night since that Robin guy decided to surprise me in my own bed. Seriously he has some nerve, and anyways," I paused when I saw her eyes widen again and her jaw drop. "Not like that!" my voice rose, and I think I blushed but I didn't care, "he was there to kidnap me," I started, "I guess that doesn't make it any better," I muttered barely audible. My face felt hot and I felt the desire to burry myself under the covers and pillows on the bed.

"Your personal relations with Goodfellow are none of my business, miss." Tansy uttered, still recovering from shock. Damn, I was never going to catch a break in this place.

"We don't have any personal relations, I swear." I exclaimed, the only relation we had was that he was the pain in my ass that dragged me to this hell. Tansy didn't comment, and instead drew the bathwater. I saw her sprinkle some other liquids in the steaming water and soon the room smelled like roses and honeysuckle. Tansy motioned me to get the bath, and I paused. "I can take it from here, Tansy. Thank you," I finally remembered my manners, but Tansy still seemed a little offended. "I promise that I don't need your assistance right now.

She hesitated, but nevertheless, gave in. "Very well, miss. Lady Weaver will be here soon and she will expect you to be ready for a fitting." I nodded, and Tansy shut the door behind her.

Peeling off my clothes and letting my body soak in the water felt like heaven. I sunk down so that they water came up to my chin and closed my eyes. Now if I could just wake up from this terrible nightmare.

* * *

"Please explain to me what you think being ready is!" I heard a shrill condescending voice above me, and I had to resist the urge to jump out of the tub and run. The water was barely luke-warm and there was now a very tall, willowy woman standing above me. Her lips were pursed and her eyes were like black daggers staring into mine.

"I must have fallen asleep," I muttered and gave a huge yawn while stretching my arms above my head. The woman threw a towel at me, which I caught before it hit the water.

"Get up. You're using all of my time and I can only do so much with what I was given to work with." She yelled and turned around, giving me at least some modesty, "I want you dried and out here in thirty seconds." She ordered; I figured it wasn't worth arguing with her. I did as I was told and before I knew it, I was on a pedestal-like-thing with this woman measuring anything and everything she possibly could.

"Is all of that really necessary?" I asked.

"Since you're staying here indefinitely, unfortunately yes. Oberon isn't fond of human clothing, especially in his court. Also, you'll be needing more than just a dress for the night," Her words were harsh and stung as if she hated explaining this too me. "Now close your eyes, and stop fidgeting," at her words I did my best to freeze.

I hesitantly closed my eyes, but as soon as felt the spidery like touches on my skin they flew open and I screamed. I would let these people drag me across the world, torcher me, skin me, or kill me before I let a spider near me willingly. "Stop it, you stupid girl." I looked down at my body only to see silky threads of fabric climbing across my body. The process still felt like thousands of spiders on me, but I resisted the urge to bat at the fabric. When the dress was complete, it glittered like sunlight and just barely swept the floor. There were a few tiny threads that acted as straps and I was terrified they would rip as soon as I moved, but Lady Weaver guaranteed they wouldn't; as long as I wasn't reckless.

Before I could comment, Lady Weaver started messing with my hair; somehow curling it without heat and letting it fall in waves down my back and then stuck roses and daisies and blossoms in my hair, almost like a make shift crown. She hung a gold neckless around my neck with a pattern of flowers stamped into the metal, which thankfully, covered up some of the skin and helped draw attention away from my breasts.

"I thought you said, my father didn't like human clothes; this looks like a cocktail dress," I commented. I felt Lady Weaver's hand smack the back of my skull.

"It is a work of art; it's not my fault I had next to nothing to start from."

"You're right it is very beautiful, I'm sorry I make the dress look bad." I corrected; I figure the less enemies I have here, the better. Lady Weaver nodded in agreement.

"I've done what I can; an escort will come by soon." Lady Weaver said, as a few hand maidens gathered her things, "try not to ruin the dress between now and the celebration," and with that final piece of advice combined with an insult she left. I walked towards the mirror to see what I'd become. Luckily, Lady Weaver had given me some flats in the same color as the dress, so I wouldn't have to worry about heals. Hell, if I had to wear heels I'd have already fallen on my face.

I looked in the mirror; but what looked back wasn't me. The reflection was too polished, too perfect. Neither, Lady Weaver nor her assistance had put make-up on me, but my eyes looked slightly bigger, even brighter. My cheek bones were sharper, my hair was more blonde, and my lips appeared a shade or two darker. Could they teach me to contour like that? Seriously, I looked good.

"She really does pull off some miracles, doesn't she?" Someone spoke from behind me; I grimaced. I refused to acknowledge his presence. I returned to examining my reflection. I know, this makes me look vane, but there really wasn't anything else to do. Nevertheless, he walked up behind me, I refused to look at his reflection standing behind me, a full head taller than me. "I think you even grew an inch or two," My eyes met his in the mirror.

"Woo, I'm now a whopping 5'4"; almost average height." I replied, sarcasm dripping from my words.

"Actually, you are definitely shorter than average height by faire standards. How that's possible with two fey in your family, I have no idea." Finally, I sighed and turned to face him, crossing my arms in front of me and scowling. "Hey, I'm just pointing out facts. Besides, it sort of makes you look cute and helpless." I balked at the insult.

"I am not helpless," I stated. Unfortunately, I had to look up at him as I spoke. "Besides, the humans in my family were probably short. It's called genetics." Puck rolled his eyes at me.

"I know what genetics are; but usually when we have children with humans they take after their faire parent."

"Well, I guess I'm just lucky I didn't." I moved my hands to my hips in defiance, but quickly put them back in front of me when I realized how much that position opened me up. Defense is the best offense, right?

I didn't have time to push his hand away before he gently tucked my hair on one side behind my ear, "I think you took after Oberon and your grandmother more than you think," There was a smirk playing at his lips that made me want to punch him in the face. I resisted the urge and chose to ignore the fact that his hand was playing with my hair. If he knew something about my heritage, well then, I could play this game too.

"Who's my grandmother?" I asked; okay, so I'm a straight to the point kind of girl. Whatever, I managed a small smile that I'm sure he didn't believe for a second.

"It doesn't matter," he replied. "But you sort of look like her. Before she was cunning and had an irresistible crave for power." He dropped his hand from my hair and looked me over again. "I guess Lady Weaver's into modern styles now; I'm not sure I've ever seen a dress that low cut in the Earlking's court before," I shoved him out of my way, and he laughed. The dress was not that low. I quickly walked towards the door and grabbed the handle to swing it open and leave, but it didn't budge. I tugged a second and a third time and finally kicked the door out of anger.

"You really need to learn how glamour works," He pointed out as he walked up beside me and open the door without a problem, "after you," I refused to thank him.

"Now, that is no way to treat your escort," he called after me, I walked briskly down the hall, ignoring the fact that I actually had no idea where I was going.

"You're not my escort," I replied keeping my eyes forward and turning left.

"Unfortunately, for you and I, I am. On your father's orders." He clarified, and then grabbed my arm to stop me. "So for both of our benefits, it would really help if you could at least act civil with me."

"I'm not going to act civil with the man who kidnapped me and dragged me into this mess." I retorted, fully aware that he didn't let go of my arm.

"Please, you should be thrilled that I got to you first. If you had stayed in your mortal world, other fey would have found you by now and either dragged you off themselves or tormented you. Consider this a favor."

"That's highly unlikely," I replied.

"Fine think of it this way, instead of trying to undermine everyone here and getting on their bad side, why don't you try being a little compliant so Oberon eases up on the security," I hesitated at his words, they made sense, but…

"How long would that take?" I asked, Puck had a crooked smile on his face that let me know that he thought he had won.

"Who knows? We have eternity, so there's really no telling."

"You, have eternity, I'm still mortal." I stated.

"Possibly,"

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"Huh, and you were the one lecturing me on genetics. If you do the math or science or whatever, I don't really care, I hate them both; you're three quarters faire, one quarter human." I stared blankly at him; he sighed, "If you actually age, which I doubt, it will take a few centuries till you pass, if it's a natural death that is,"

"You're saying I'm immortal?" I asked in disbelief.

"I'm saying that you need to learn who to pick a fight with. Having the gift of such a long life also means that you're enemies have a long time to hunt you down and torcher you. In the human world I'm known for playing tricks on kings and other nobility, even started a war or two on accident, but I'm also thousands of years old."

"So you're saying I should look up to you as a role model?" I held his gaze as I said the words, my natural smart ass attitude wasn't quite as strong at the moment. He gave me a wicked grin and offered his arm to me, hesitantly I laced mine through his and let him turn us around. Of course, I was going the wrong way the entire time.

"I wouldn't say that exactly, but you do technically look up to everyone." I had to bite my lip so hard to hold back a remark, that I thought my lip might bleed.

* * *

Yay! Short people jokes. I'm allowed to do those since I'm short too. I think this is my longest chapter so far, but don't worry things heat up soon ;) reviews, comments, and suggestions please!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Festivals

I'm not sure what caught me off guard first, the Renaissance style of the place or the somewhat promiscuous dancing. It was a warped mix of two different eras that should really go nowhere near each other.

I was still holding onto Puck as I absentmindedly let him guide me through the crowd. There were fairies dressed in what I can only describe as the full get-up. Floor length dresses with the corset style tops, then men wearing an equally intriguing fashion with vests or tunics and I didn't even know what to call some of the other clothing items. And then there were the fairies that seemed to have embraced my culture's clothing of short dresses, small tops, and heavy make-up. There were vines and flowers strung above us with lights intertwined that shown different colors; lighting up the night. Candles were lit on every table, and on every table there seemed to be a never ending supply of sweets and what I'm guessing was wine. Wine sounds good right now, I thought to myself as Puck pulled me in another direction, wine would fix this crazy dream. Wine pretty much fixes everything, I turned my head mournfully away from the drink and continued on.

In addition to the flowers that seemed to be everywhere, there was also music and laughter. It wasn't an overbearing obnoxious sound that threatened to give a person a migraine; but it was a constant soft ringing in the air, that could fill a person with joy and bliss if they weren't careful. Finally, I could see where exactly Puck was dragging me. At a long table raised that sat at the head of the precession was Oberon and, well, some woman.

"Puck who is that?" I asked, standing on tip toes so he could hear me over the crowd.

"That's Titania, Queen of the Summer Court," He replied. I stopped right where I was, causing him to stop as well. "What?"

"You never mentioned my dad had a wife!" I stated; I was barely able to hold back my alarm. Puck didn't seem too concerned.

"It's not like this hasn't happened before," he started; like that meant anything to me.

"Well, how has she reacted in the past?" I asked; refusing to budge from where I stood, which of course was right in the middle of the party. There were dozens of dancing, moving, grinding bodies around us that first, I had no idea if anyone was actually in tune with the music, and second, there were several bodies that seemed to constantly brush up against either me or Puck, almost forcing us to stand barely an inch apart.

"The last one she only forced to work in the kitchens," he started, "and she hasn't actually killed one of Oberon's illegitimate children since the 1700s. But," he added quickly to keep me from objecting, "Titania understands the severity of this situation. While she might enjoy turning you into an animal or forcing you into slavery, she knows that if you were to fall into the wrong hands, then she would most certainly face her death." He finished.

"And why's that?" I asked, trying to pry more answers out of him; he gave me a snarky grin and then pulled me in the direction of my father, and I guess, stepmother. I dug me heels in the ground and refused to move. "I'm not going up there until you answer my question."

"Yes you are," he replied as he turned to face me, which only forced me to look up at him. You could say we were way to close for my comfort. "Because I'm only giving you two options: one go greet your father, or two, stay here with me and dance until you drop." He then reached behind him and grabbed a bottle out of another fairie's hand, much to the latter's discontent, and then offered it to me. I stared him down as harsh as I could but with all the music and dancing it was futile. It was like the atmosphere seeped into my skin and sent my senses wild.

"What is it?" I asked; his whole body language was just darning me to take a drink. Luckily, I've been to one too many frat parties, so I'm pretty much immune to that whole innocent charm.

"Fairie wine, best thing you'll ever taste." I guess that was the upside to fairies not being able to lie, except I felt even more compelled to try it now. "Although, I recommend you start out small," He added, holding the bottle between us. I could smell a sweet scent and I wasn't sure if it was coming from the bottle, or from somewhere else nearby.

I smiled politely back up at him, "As chivalrous as you are, I think I'd rather take my chances with Oberon and Titania." I turned and walked towards my father, not bothering to look back at Puck.

As I walked up the stairs to stand in front of the kind and queen, a small part of me regretted that decision. "Uh," I started unsure what to say or do really. I gave an awkward curtsy that I had no idea if it was out of place or not. Titania looked at me like I was cockroach; but there was something else hidden behind her eyes, and Oberon looked almost apologetic. Apparently this wasn't the first time a human had tried this and failed. My mind scrambled for something else to say, before my dad finally took pity on me.

"Titania this is Emily Nikks, she's agreed to join us in the summer court." He gestured to a seat beside him and I walked towards it, trying to conceal my look of 'excuse me I didn't agree to anything, now get me out of here.'

Titania didn't say a thing; unfortunately, her silence actually worried me more. If she had a problem with me then I'd rather her spit it out. "Now Emily, because of your condition,"

"My condition?" I asked, "I wasn't aware I had an affliction." As soon as I said it, I wish I didn't. Oberon glared at me and then sighed. My comment must not have been loud enough to catch anyone else's attention.

"Because of your lineage, you can probably get away with eating small portions of the food here. But don't push it. And you are absolutely forbidden from drinking the wine." My eyes went wide. I'm a sorority girl; wine is water to me. I was ready to retaliate but one look from the summer king and I knew not to push it. I looked at the meager plate in front of me. Okay, it wasn't meager, but being banned from the alcohol really put a downer on my day. I picked up a fork and poked at what I think was a fruit. It was yellow and small, but when I popped it in my mouth it was the most amazing thing I had ever tasted; other than wine of course. Gosh, now I'm going to be stuck thinking about wine all night. Despite the glorious taste of whatever the heck I was eating, I did remain cautious. As soon as what I could only describe as a buzz set in, I stopped.

"Does all your food do this, or is this a party special?" I asked to no one in particular; however, Oberon seemed to be in a relatively good mood because he answered.

"For you, yes. It doesn't have as strong effect on fair folk; however, it would be worse if you were a standard human." A standard human; I rolled the words over in my head, it took longer than it should have for them to register their meaning.

"So why exactly did I agree to stay in the summer court. And a when would be nice too, because I don't remember that conversation." I asked, it had been at least twenty minutes since Oberon had mentioned that, but for some reason, my slightly impaired brain decided now was a good time to talk about it.

"For your protection."

"Protection from what?" I asked, "No, it's a who; my grandmother right? Who is she?" I asked, I could feel a strange change in the energy in the atmosphere, almost like electricity, stinging my skin.

"We will have this discussion later," He answered; I didn't push it. Although, when I saw who was approaching the table, I wish I had. Being thrown in a dungeon, and I'm sure they had a dungeon here, was probably better.

"Emily, would you like to dance?" I'm not sure if I paled or blushed at the words; I do know that my voice was caught in my throat, as my mind sent up a blaring, red warning sign inside my head. It practically blasted bad idea, bad idea, no, no, no! But nothing came out of my mouth. "I promise no harm will come to you throughout the dance," He added; I blinked my eyes slowly, hoping the figure would disappear when I reopened them. Of course, it was not my lucky day.

"Emily, you need to answer him," Oberon whispered, "and don't let any of us be seen in an ill light." I got the meaning, 'say yes, Emily.'

I looked Puck straight in the eyes and forced myself to answer. "Yes, of course," I spoke and got up from my seat, taking his hand and letting him lead me through the crowd, again. "Why are you doing this?" I asked, as he placed his hands on my waist.

"Just trying to have a little fun. Besides, you looked bored to death sitting up there," He spun me around, so quick and fluidly that I barely knew it started before it ended. "I thought I'd come rescue you."

"Oh how very kind of you," I let the sarcasm drip from my tongue. "Thank you so much, you have no idea how," I stopped when I saw Puck's face, it was like a mask, frozen in place, except a glint in his eyes. It wasn't the mischievous look I was used to, it was something worse. I screwed up. "What?" I asked softly, I tore my gaze away from Puck and could see a few other nearby faces looking at us with mildly interested expressions.

"You shouldn't have said that," He muttered; although I could see a smile playing at his lips which meant he wasn't too upset about the whole thing.

"Okay, it was sarcasm, you know? So I didn't really mean it," I stated, my voice getting fainter as I spoke. Suddenly I really didn't like the other fey who were look at us. Most of them had continued on dancing or drinking, but a few still watched.

"It doesn't really matter." Puck groaned and I felt his grip tighten on my waist. "Saying that puts you in my debt. I never got a chance to explain that about fair folk." There was a thin smile on this lips as he looked down at me, his eyes looked darker than normal.

"Well, you can just forgive that, right? I mean, it's not really fair." I tried to argue; I wasn't sure if he was listening since he absentmindedly grabbed a strand of my hair and twisted it around his fingers; avoiding my gaze.

"I could, but that's not really in my nature." He muttered, "Plus, enough people overheard our little exchange that I'm worried that they might think less of me if I let you go. Have to keep up appearances and all."

"You can't force me to agree to a deal." I muttered.

"It's not really a deal, it's more of a, you're in my debt. I told you to watch what you say around here,"

"So?" I interrupted. "You can't make me do anything to repay the debt that I don't agree with." I argued; fisting my hands against his chest; he rolled his eyes at me.

"The debt has to be of equal value, I'll give you that." He said; as if that finished the conversation. "And I can call it in whenever I want." He added as he traced my jawline with his finger tip. I don't know if I was going crazy or if it was an effect of the food, but it felt good. I pushed his hand away.

"Stop that," I said, my voice louder than it had been. I hadn't really noticed how much closer we had gotten trying to keep the conversation between the two of us.

"Stop what?" he said; he was doing an awfully good job at pretending that he had no idea what he was doing.

"The glamour thing, stop messing with my head."

"Why would you think I'm using glamour?" He asked, I was starting to get real tired of that trouble-maker look in his eyes. At least it's better than his previous look, which still made me shiver. "Because I'm not."

I was ready to protest, but I was cut short by the silence that descended on the party. It was eerie, everyone was laughing and enjoying the night, when all of the sudden, nothing. The lights went out; the air was stagnant and cold.

Puck leaned forward, and gently whispered in my ear, so quiet, at first, I wasn't sure if he had spoken, "we need to leave, princess." I let him lead me through the crowd as everyone else muttered and worried about what had happened.

The confusion of the crowd was building, I looked towards where my father and Tatiana had been but only Oberon stood there. His face grim and enraged. I started to notice figures that were creeping in on the sides, shining copper armor glinted in the starlight, but one tug from Puck dragged my attention away from them and towards the small cove of trees he was pulling me towards.

We were almost out of sight, when there was a bang of metal breaking, and I'm pretty sure, although I didn't see it, all hell broke loose.

* * *

So there's another cliff hanger. Kind of short I know, but this was a fun chapter to write. And I finally know where this story is going. Not sure how long it'll be but it will get really interesting. Reviews please!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Identities

We started running as soon as we hit the trees. I felt a sense of Deja vu from the previous time I had run through this forest, but I focused on the path ahead of me; trying to weave, dodge, and keep up with Puck was tiring.

"Okay, just stop," Puck halted and grabbed my arm to keep me from flying forward. I looked up at him, while trying to catch my breath. "If you're going to breath like an engine then we need to find a place to hide, otherwise they'll just follow us." I was ready to protest, when he pulled me off the trail and pushed me up against one of the trees.

"Excuse me, out of bounds a little bit," I whispered through my teeth, I tried wriggling out of his grasp, but he only grabbed my wrists with one hand and covered my mouth with the other. To my utter annoyance, he smiled.

"If you think that was out of bounds, then you're going to hate this next part." Cautiously he removed his hand from my mouth, once again I opened my lips to protest, but was cut off when he pressed his lips against mine.

My eyes went wide, my breath caught in my lungs, and I wanted to run screaming into the night, but my whole body was frozen in place. Slowly, I found myself playing along with it, although that might have been because I was pretty much immobilized between Puck and the tree. Not to mention the fact that I could feel his free hand slip behind my neck to keep my lips pressed up against his. If it were any other circumstances, I might have actually enjoyed the whole event. I felt him bite down on my lower lip, forcing my own to open, and he quickly took advantage of it. Slipping his tongue into my mouth to tangle with my own. I was almost ready to give into it all; after all, I had had a difficult past few days, I deserved some fun. That was when I heard the pounding of footsteps on the path that we had been on only a moment ago. Well, maybe it was longer than a moment, but I was distracted.

I pulled back when I heard them stop just a few feet away. It was dark, but I could feel Puck's breath on my cheek as we both stood frozen in place, waiting for whoever or whatever for that matter to continue on their way. Patiently, I waited for a few seconds before peering around the tree, but Puck caught my chin with his hand and turned me back to face him. Placing a finger over my lips while resting his forehead against my own, I got the message: don't say anything. Cautiously he stepped away from me, making sure I wouldn't run for it. When he was certain, he stepped out into full view of whoever was on the trail.

"Can I help you find something?" He asked, his voice lazy as he leaned against the tree. I couldn't see his face or the others', but I could see Puck as he crossed his arms and gave off the most carefree, arrogant body language I had ever seen. Meanwhile, I was still blushing and trying to slow my heart rate down from the kiss we had shared.

"Who are you?" One of the creatures asked, its words were clear, but I think they were quite a bit shorter since the voice came from lower down.

"More importantly, who is she?" Another one said from my side. I jumped back right as the thing was going to poke me with a spear; and I would have fell over if it weren't for Puck grabbing me from behind. I stared at the little creature, its tall wooden spear tipped with bronze so sharp that I'm sure one prick and I'd have a hole going straight through me.

"That's Robin Goodfellow, you idiot. Now here, give me that." A third voice said as it grabbed the spear from the second. It looked me over, actually it leered at me, but either way you say it, it was creepy. "It can't be her. She doesn't fit the description,n," it said. I was dumbfounded, what was going on?

"Well, if you haven't found who you're looking for, I'd appreciate it, if you let us be as we were before you so rudely interrupted," I heard Puck speak, the creatures turned to face him.

They were ugly little things. Bruised and scarred faces with a bluish tinge to their skin. It was like the smurfs from hell. One of them raised its spear at us, sniffing the air like a bloodhound.

"I wouldn't do that," Puck threatened; I could see the gleam of his dagger in his free hand. The creature hesitated for a minute, as if weighing the pros and cons.

"Come on, it's not worth losing your life over. We have to find the girl before she escapes again. Or we're all getting punished by our mistress." One by one the creatures turned and wandered off down the path, except the one who had spoken last. He seemed to be the leader of the group and made sure everyone left before him. He took another long look at me as if he didn't believe what he was seeing, but he seemed to accept it when he turned away and hobbled after the others.

"What was that about?" I asked, removing Puck's arm from around my waist. How did it even get there, was a really so freaked out that I didn't notice the not so casual contact between us? At that moment I caught a glimpse of something dark out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look, but it moved with me. "What the hell I muttered," I grabbed at my hair, and pulled it to where I could see it. "What did you do?" I glared at Puck accusingly.

"Glamour," He commented only giving me a portion of his attention. "I don't think it's safe to go back yet though," He muttered; something obviously wasn't right.

"You glamoured me?" I asked; he rolled his eyes.

"These are the times I wish I could lie; for sarcastic purposes." He muttered as he started walking down the path away from the courtyard where the party had been. His face expression was far more serious than I'd seen before, and just by glancing at his stance, I could see his muscles were tensed, ready for an attack. "Besides," he started, turning and giving me a very obvious once over, "you look fine like that." So much for serious.

"Are you saying my normal self is unattractive?" I asked; there was no way Puck could ignore the tension in the air with that question. "Now fix it, please." I added the last part last minute, batting my eyes and pouting my lips. He rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"I prefer blonde over brunette, but since there's someone still on our tail, we'll keep it this way for now." He responded; still not turning away from me. I'll just take that as a compliment, I guess. I was only two steps behind him, when out of nowhere something flew like a dagger in front of my face, missed by an inch, and impaled itself in a nearby tree. There was a small scream in the air, and I quickly covered my mouth with my hands when I realized it was my own scream. Wonderful, I am now the helpless damsel in distress. I could only imagine how long Puck would hold that over my head.

"What the," I started; I looked the object over it was clear as glass and looked cold. Wait, of course it looked cold, it's an icicle.

"Stay behind me," I heard Puck's voice, as he pulled me behind himself. Gee, like I really had a choice. With a dagger in each hand, he actually looked intimidating.

"Our mysterious follower person?" I asked.

"Something like that," he muttered as he scanned the trees for any sign of movement.

"Who's following us? And if they're trying to capture me, why would he, or she I guess, try impaling me with ice?"

"You remember you half-sister right?" He asked; I nodded, not that he could really see, "her husband is, well was, a prince of winter. I can only imagine Meghan wants you back in the iron realm with her. And no doubt he offered to bring you in. Kiss ass son of a," Puck dodged one icicle, and deflected another; but a third grazed him on his upper thigh.

"I'm guessing he's not your number one fan," I commented as Puck rubbed at his leg; despite the circumstances, he grinned up at me.

"You could say that." He stood back up, and while he was busy guarding me, he continued to talk, "and I expect you to nurse me back to health when all this is over. I want your full, undivided attention," I wacked my hand against his shoulder blade, moron, "it could be an all-night process, so I hope you have endurance." I hit him again.

Quicker than I could watch, Puck was thrown to the ground. Above him stood a tall man with dark hair and cold eyes, the tip of a sword pointed at Puck's throat. I was frozen where I stood. I hadn't even seen him coming. My eyes went back and forth between Puck and the stranger; slowly, it dawned on me. "You're that one guy," I stated, my voice breathless and barely audible. I guess that wasn't the best description because, neither of them turned to face me as they stared the other down; that is until Puck started to laugh.

"Hi, Ash. I guess you're not just stopping by to visit," he rolled aside just as Ash slashed at his throat with the sword. I watched holding my breath as they fought. I was amazed at how quick they could move. Dangerously fast, I thought as I saw one of Puck's daggers graze Ash's arm. I don't think Puck was trying to hurt Ash, but it was obvious he wasn't going to let himself get hurt, or worse, either.

Then, I wasn't sure how it happened, but one moment they were both standing on the ground, their weapons were millimeters apart from each other. The next, Ash had his hand around Puck's throat, the tip of his sword at Puck's throat. I don't know what came over me, it's not like I actually care about Puck, but I was running to both of them. Seriously, what the hell is wrong with me, I should be running away, but I didn't. I ran up, wrapped both my hands around Ash's arm that was holding his sword and tried to pull it away. Jeez, he was a lot stronger than he looked.

"Oh gosh, just stop. Stop fighting, just leave us alone," I cried; tugging at Ash's arm. I felt him hesitate for a second, huh weird.

"Emily, get out of here," I heard Puck's voice but it seemed so far away.

"No," I wasn't really replying to him so much as responding to the situation. I was sick and tired of this place, I wanted to go home. Heck, even if home was making up hours of missed homework and exams, I would still take that over this place. "Just leave us alone!" I shouted one more time; to my disbelief, Ash lowered his arm and looked at me. It was like time was frozen, although that could have been the chill in the air that accompanied his gaze; but, I didn't drop my eyes from his, even though I was becoming increasingly aware of the dangerous position I had put myself in. oh well, fake it till you make it, right? "Please, just go," I was practically begging at this point.

In disbelief I watched as Ash stepped back. His expression was full of confusion, and I'm sure mine was full of shock. It was like he had no idea what he was doing, luckily, Puck didn't speak up on the subject until Ash was gone, or at least out of site. "What did you do?" He muttered, his words giving away his shock. He recovered in seconds; his eyes focused on me as he stared intently demanding an answer.

"I, I don't know," I stammered. "I swear I don't know what happened," I watched his face, I doubt me believed me, but he didn't seem to be accusing me of anything either, "I swear I didn't do anything," I repeated, "I was just scared."

When he didn't say anything, it was tempting to panic. Wasn't he supposed to have the answers here? I waited silently, then he raised his hand and tangled a strand of my hair in between his fingers as if he was thinking. What was with this guy and needing to touch everything? "There, the glamour is gone," he muttered, I looked back at his hand, and sure enough, the strands he was messing with now were a dirty blond. The curls that had been carefully sculpted for tonight were a tangled mess now, but whatever. It seemed I had more important matters to deal with.

"Puck, does this have something to do with my grandmother?" I asked softly, not wanting to break his seemingly deep concentration. He didn't answer for a few seconds, and just when I thought he didn't hear me, he spoke.

"Possibly, but if it does, it's not good for you," he answered; his gaze was stern, the playful light had gone out, and was replaced with a heartless expression, as if I was all of the sudden the enemy. I watched and waited silently for him to continue, but he only scanned the area around us before sighing as if giving in. "I swear if you tell anyone I told you this I'll drive you into insanity, but," he paused making sure I understood the meaning of his threat. Yeah, yeah, I'll end up in a looney bin. Unfortunately, that chance was already pretty high after this little vacation. "Your grandmother is Leanansidhe. And I think, I don't know for sure, but I'm pretty sure you cam charmspeak."

I stared at him blankly. What the hell does that mean? Fortunately, due to the seemingly seriousness of the situation, I didn't ask that out loud, and I was able to compose myself a little bit before speaking.

"Who and what is that?" Referring to both of Puck's statements. Some how I knew that neither one of them were good.

"Leanansidhe is a fey, obviously, but she was banished quite a while back because of how powerful she was becoming. As a result, she became the self-titled 'queen of the exiled' and now runs a very lucrative business between the Nevernever and the human world." He waited to let his words sink it, when it seemed like I wouldn't scream or hit him, he continued. "Charmspeak, is extraordinarily rare. I can convince people of some crazy shit, but I can't order them around."

"So it's mind control," I summarized for him; he shook his head.

"Not exactly, kind of I guess. It's like a very powerful suggestion. Especially considering that you just did it to Ash, and by the way, when it wears off, which I'm guessing will be soon, he will be extremely pissed."

"So what you're trying to say is, what?" I asked. "I didn't even know I could do that. As far as I'm concerned, I've always been a perswausive person, but what happened a minute ago has never happened in my life. Besides, it doesn't tell me what this Leanansidhe person wants." I fired back.

Puck smiled down at me; I frowned. "Exactly my point. I understand enough about your life to know that you've never been ignored. You're always front and center of something. Which isn't the norm for most fey or even their half breed children. When you speak, people listen. Even Oberon was caught off guard by that. You've been using your charmspeak you're entire life and never even noticed. Tonight was just more," He paused looking for the right word, or just dramatic effect, "forceful." I didn't have a reply for that. I was caught off guard, because it all made sense.

Every moment I could think of when I wanted to be heard, I was. Heck, there were more bad memories where I had attracted more attention than wanted rather than memories or being ignored or feeling left out. I had racked that up to just being a social person, but what? Now I had some super power I had been holding over everyone? Yeah right.

"Then why didn't it work on you?" I asked, "before you kidnapped me, I told you multiple times to leave me alone, and you were still stubborn enough to stand in my way." I chose my words carefully as I spoke.

"I'm older and stronger than Ash, but I guess if I think about it, I did feel a little bit of your power then. I just assumed it was you being difficult rather than some unseen gift." He fired back, there was a faint smirk on his lips, but his eyes were still dark, as if he had his guard up now.

"Does the Seelie King know about this?" I asked.

"No," he replied, his words were heavy, and I wasn't sure I wanted to know why, but he continued speaking anyways. "And don't let him find out, now let's go." I wanted to ask why but missed my chance, as he turned around briskly, and began walking back towards the palace. He had a grip on my wrist and tugged me along, making sure that I couldn't slip away. I got the feeling my life here just got a whole lot more difficult if I had Puck against me.

* * *

We finally know who the mysterious grandmother is! What will happen next, who knows?! Okay, actually, I do know, but I had a few too many glasses of wine tonight (darn wine), so I'm feeling a little out of it. I did try and edit the chapter before posting though.

Reviews and advice are always welcome!

Thank you for reading!


	9. Chapter 9

This chapter took me forever to right, basically because I was going to put a certain scene in it, but decided to wait a few more chapters haha ;) any reviews are always welcome, thank you!

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Chapter 9: Lessons

"The first thing to know about glamour is that you need to be able to feel the emotions around you," Puck stated; I looked at him dumbfoundly. It was a gorgeous summer day, or course, all days were probably like that in the summer court, and Puck had decided that I needed to learn how to harness my abilities before someone uses them against me. My opinion on this, seemed to be meaningless, as he continued rambling about this and that. I twisted a strand of my hair between my fingers as I sat on the ground, cross legged, with Puck in front of me.

"You're not listening to me," The words pulled me from my mind, as I looked up, his green eyes were set on me, and his arms crossed in front of him.

"Yes, I am," I shot back defensively, there was a slow burn in my throat that made me grimace at my own words, giving away my lie. That was new. "Just test me on this magic stuff. I'm more of an active learner anyways." When his eyebrows shot up and a grin spread across his face, I quickly added, "not like that, well," I blushed at my words as I thought it over. Shit, technically there was only one way to learn certain things, but that wasn't what I meant.

Thankfully, he seemed to hold back a smart remark; I wasn't going to explore that subject with him. At least not in broad daylight in the middle of a courtyard. "Fine, then make those flowers bloom," He shrugged, referring to the flowers that were next to us. They were already in full bloom, but there were still a few bulbs that hadn't come out yet. Deep reds and purples were set off by the light green of the leaves.

"Maybe I don't want to make the flowers bloom," I replied; staring at the flowers, I refused to look at Puck.

"Just do it," He added; his patience seemed to be running thin, so I focused on 'feeling the emotions around me.' It was weird, at first there was nothing, actually there was nothing for quite a while. So I switched to focusing on my own. Fatigue and irritation were the first things that seemed to roll over me. Makes sense, considering this whole event was the current example of those two. I dug deeper and could feel the fainter emotions of embarrassment, joy, and fear. What a wonderful combination, I thought. I tried reaching for the intangible objects. They were almost like dull pulses of color in the air, but they slipping through my metaphorical grasp every time.

"There's not enough emotion here," I finally spoke. Even when I turned back to Puck, I could still feel the lingering traces of defeat in the air as I mentioned my failure. Well I guess I accomplished something. I was now going to be forever aware of how everyone around me felt. Great, maybe that would at least make me an empathetic nurse.

"Well, then get more emotional," my eyes went wide and my mouth slightly gaped. He grinned at me as he laid down on the grass, hands behind his head, parallel to me so I could still see his face. I fisted my hands in the grass, pulling ups stems in my frustration.

"Excuse me?" I replied, giving him a chance to redeem himself from the somewhat stereotyping comment. Puck looked at me, through half closed eyes.

"Anger's not a good emotion for growing flowers," I threw the grass at his face, while biting back insults. "You could try using the emotions of others around you," he added as he wiped the stray pieces of grass off him.

I groaned and rolled my eyes at him; although he probably didn't see since his eyes were closed again. Around the courtyard there were other fey out. There were pixies whisking through the trees and shrubbery in some kind of mad chase, I think I could see a few satyrs playing music and dancing by a pond on the other side of the court yard. Basking in the sun, were other girls about my age, their limbs were thin and long though, and tinted with pale greens and pinks. The sunlight seemed to sharpen their angular features even more to the point where they appeared harsh.

I closed my eyes and focused, on the different fey. There was white bliss from the satyrs, a playful green from the pixies, and a serene, calming blue from the sidth. Even though they were father away, the emotions were still recognizable, more tangible, but still slippery. I focused on letting the energy flow into me, jeez I sound like some yoga hippie, but whatever. It was like the collapsing of a dam in slow motion. The energy seemed to rush into me, filling my veins and lungs till I felt like I might choke. My ears rang with the laughter of the pixies, even if they were too far away for me to hear, it was as if they were next to me. I could hear the music of the satyrs, and instantly I felt a deep longing to dance and let go of everything.

I tried funneling the energy into my fingertips, then brushing my fingers over the warm earth, I pushed the energy into the roots of the plants. The ground seemed to hum to life; I could feel the plants bend to my will. The roots dug into the earth, the stems lengthened, then leaves grew fuller, and finally, the blooms that were previously closed opened.

Opening my eyes to view my handiwork, I froze, my lips coming to form an 'o'. "Impressive," was Puck's only comment. The flowers weren't just bloomed out, they were taller, and occupying much more space than they had before. It was like they had grown right up to the edge of where Puck and I were sitting, they were taller now so we were partly in the shade and blooms hung over us as if they were physical being pulled. Roses, hydrangeas, tulips and so many more flowers that I didn't know the name of filled the entire view before my eyes. An electric shock seemed to flood the air, until I realized it was my own. I turned to face Puck, expecting an explanation. "I guess lesson number two is control," He stated.

Something seemed off about his voice though. I watched him carefully, focusing on each word, trying to identify it. His words sounded sharper, as if before his words had been muffled. As I focused on the different sounds I noticed I could now hear the music softly drifting through the air, almost as if it wrapped around me, hugging me and beckoning me to sway and dance. The girls on the lawn whispered and giggled gossips that I would never understand or care to know. The leaves rustled as fey darted in and out of the gardens, their feet or whatever they walked on, padded lightly against the dirt.

Colors seemed sharper too, the sky was a deeper blue and the grass was greener than I could have imagined. It was like being inside a high definition TV on steroids. Meanwhile, the whole time I'd been taking everything in for what seemed like the first time, there were emotions fliting through the air. Ones that I hadn't even noticed before, and they seemed stronger now, as if now that I knew they were there, energy waiting to be utilized, they were more obvious. Bliss, joy, playfulness, and curiosity filled the area. All things that made up the summer court.

There was something darker though. It felt thick and heavy, and as I reached for it and pulled at it, the feeling seemed to coat my skin, covering every pore. It wasn't uncomfortable, but not knowing what it was scared me a little. Slowly it sank away; mentally, I tugged at it, grasping, desperate to figure out what it was. Who was the person who said curiosity killed the cat? Then it was gone. Just gone. It wasn't replaced by any new emotion, it just disappeared, as if I'd been cut off. I looked at Puck again, realizing I'd been staring off into space for probably quite sometime now.

His eyes were already on me, and I blushed, although it could have been out of embarrassment. Even he looked different now. Still recognizable, but different. His eyes were a deeper green than I remembered, his hair still dark red, but the contrast with his eyes highlighted his features. His cheek bones were sharp, like the other fey basking in the sun not far from us. I shook my head, suddenly dizzy from the experience.

Gently I laid down on the ground. The spinning seemed to decrease, but beneath me the earth hummed with energy. I groaned and covered my face with my hands.

"What's wrong?" I heard Puck ask; his voice sounded closer, but I didn't uncover my eyes to face him.

"Nothing," I muttered; and not two seconds later, I felt that choking burn in my throat. Worse than the first time, my eyes watered to the point where I had tears running down my face, and I had to rub them away with the back of a hand. "It's just overwhelming," I muttered, my throat was sore as if I'd been sick, but otherwise, the burn had receded. I opened my eyes and above me I could see Puck looking down at me; concern on his face, but there was confusion lingering in the air. As soon as I touched the fleeting feeling, it vanished as if it had never existed.

"Stop reading my emotions," Puck said blatantly. It was an order, and nothing less. He seemed mildly annoyed at my attempts to reach out and touch the former feelings, but it was useless. There was nothing left, even if I focused on him, I couldn't feel any emotion coming off of him.

"How are you doing that?" I asked, propping myself up on my elbows. I was still lightheaded, but it wasn't near as bad as before. Puck adjusted himself so he was lying next to me on his side; his head propped on one arm and his other reached for one of the flowers above, lightly tugging on the velvet petals. "Besides, you told me to use other's emotions." I defended my actions.

He didn't answer at first. In fact, he didn't seem interested in answering me at all, despite the scowl on my face as I looked up at him. He tugged at an orchid bloom, until it fell to the ground, it's rich purple petals as deeply colored as the first fleeting emotion I had felt. I sighed impatiently, and finally he looked at me.

"I guess I never said don't use mine," he admitted; his words steady as he spoke, "but I didn't think you'd be strong enough to reach them anyways," He grinned at me, "my mistake."

"That doesn't explain why I can't read them now," I muttered, crossing my arms on my chest, refusing to look at him; he rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time at me.

"I put up a sort of barrier. You should probably learn how to do it, since you let all of your emotions just poor right out of you," He explained; it took me a moment to catch what he meant. I could feel my cheeks grow warm at the thought, but at the same time I felt pale with at the understanding.

"You've been reading my emotions this whole time?" I stated, more for me than for him. Saying the words out loud seemed to make them truer. Then, faster than I ever thought I could move, I managed to shove him on his back, and before I could stop myself I was straddling him. One hand raised ready to strike him. He smiled wide and raised his hands in a mock self-defense.

"Also, you probably don't want to let them control you," he commented; batting my hand away as I swung at him. "Some instruction on fighting wouldn't be that bad either," he grabbed my hand as I attempted to hit him, and rolled both of us over in the process. While I seemed to be quicker than I was before, he was even faster. He managed to grab my other hand, and held both of mine with one hand, and then I felt a cold object press against my skin. I froze at the sharp sting of the dagger at my neck; he didn't press it hard enough to draw blood, or even really hurt me, but the awareness that it was there alerted me to the danger of the situation. "You kind of suck at it," he added to the former statement. I gave him my harshest glare as he moved the knife; his eyes were still as bright as ever, and it looked like he was trying not to laugh at me. Does he take anything seriously?

"Let me go," I struggled against him. His smile grew.

"If you promise not to hit me again," He replied; I paused in thought.

"Yeah, I can't make that promise; name something else." I muttered, resuming at my struggles when an idea hit. Quickly I pulled at the energy around me, it was playful and light, like he actually thought this was a game. There was a trace of the deeper violet I detected earlier but I ignored it for now. Things to figure out and keep me entertained later. I let the glamour stretch through my fingers, and it burned against Puck's hand.

"Ow!" he remarked, and released my hands. Clumsily I shoved him off me, and scrambled a few feet away. Breathing hard as if I'd run a marathon. I guess the glamour took more out of me than I had thought. Meanwhile Puck looked at me in disbelief.

"Sorry, no deal." Now it was my turn to smile smugly. I got up quickly and brushed myself off, "I think we're good for today," I added as I turned to walk towards my room. I stumbled as I got up, and my vision blurred for a second. No big deal, I just need to cool it with the glamour practice.

I continued walking towards a door that would hopefully be close to my room; while I focused on grabbing the handle, the darn thing seemed to be moving, I vaguely heard Puck run up behind me. Finally I grabbed the door and wrenched it open. It flew faster than I could see and I stumbled again into the corridor.

"Emily, are you okay?" I could feel the concern in the air, but Puck's voice seemed muffled. I turned to face him, my limbs feeling heavier by the second. Everything was still exaggerated in detail, yet they all blended together, talk about information overload. Focusing on Puck's form took more effort than it should have, and I could feel something warm wrap around one numb wrist. Realizing that it was his hand, I tried to pull away, but the effort was pointless.

"I'm fine," I muttered, "I just need to sit down for a little bit," The words tumbled out of my mouth as I slurred like a drunk. My knees buckled and I fell forward against Puck. I could feel the warmth radiate off him as his arms wrapped around my waist, holding me up right. "This isn't sitting," I mumbled against his shirt. I felt a hand on my cheek; the lighting seemed to dim as Puck lifted my face so he could see me, and before I realized it, everything was dark.


	10. Chapter 10

I'm back! Also, I really wanted to post this chapter since school starts tomorrow.

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Chapter 10: Blood Sickness

"…fell, then passed out…" somewhere, there was a voice; the words were barely comprehensible. I kept my eyes closed, and listened for more, trying to identify the speaker. Meanwhile, my body felt like it was on fire, every inch of it burned, but there was something heavy on top of me. I moved to tear whatever it was off me, but since the heat didn't fade, I'm pretty sure my arms never got the message from my brain to move. Silently, I suffered, listening for more hushed voices.

"…told you not to teach her anything, no one knew what would happen, and now no one knows what's happening," the second voice was deeper, a picture of a face popped into my mind, but was gone before I could put a name to it. My head throbbed; did I hit it? The burning sensation continued, rising through my hands and feet into my limbs, and finally to my chest and into my throat. I felt my facial muscles grimace, as I choked on the heat. Wet tears ran down my cheeks, and someone was coughing. A thick fluid rose in the back of my throat, gagging me, causing me to retch for air. Seriously, someone turn me on my side, it's like the most basic thing you can do for someone who's passed out.

Gently, I felt two small hands roll me over, the hot liquid spilled out of my mouth, burning my cheek. Someone wiped my lips with a silky cloth and another pair of hands pushed my hair back from my face. Briefly, I thought, where was this kind of care freshman year of college? Yet, even my brain didn't seem to have time for sarcasm. I tried opening my eyes, but someone pushed then shut with their fingertips.

"I suggest you avoid me for the next few days, Goodfellow. Unless…" The voice was above me know, strong and firm and angry. I heard a door shut somewhere, and then a cold cloth was placed on my forehead. There was another discussion in the room, the same voice as before but now a gentler, almost meek voice was present. I couldn't hear the words, my brain was too busy screaming in pain. Something was pressed into my mouth, a few drops falling on my tongue, it tasted sweet, but strange. Nothing I was familiar with. I didn't think about it much longer, because before I knew it, I was out.

* * *

The second time I awoke, at least, I think it was the second time, my eyes opened and I cringed at the brightness of the room. Somehow, I was in my bedroom, blankets piled on top of me, strands of hair clinging to my face. The room smelled like sick, and all I could think of was how amazing a shower would be. Even if that shower was back in the dorms in the communal shower room with twenty other girls I would take it.

Numbly, I tugged at the blankets, cool air hit the bare skin of my arms. I was dressed in only a light cotton dress, and the tiles were cool beneath my feet as I swung my legs over the side of the bed. Sitting up now, my head swam and the room spun. I could feel vomit rise in the back of my throat, but I swallowed it down. I knew there was a bath somewhere in this room, but I didn't trust my legs to get me there.

"Tansy," I called, my voice was ruff and ragged. My throat burned from throwing up whatever it was before. I heaved myself off the bed, legs wobbly, and barely able to stand. "Tansy," I called again, louder this time, the door opened, but it wasn't Tansy on the other side. The girl looked older than me, her eyes were dark brown and almond shaped. Her hair the color of bark and her skin looked rough, but when she placed her hands on my arm to keep me up, they were soft.

"Why are you out of bed?" She asked, her voice was soft and breezy, but her grip was firm as she steadied me.

"Just need a bath," I muttered; even as I pulled myself to my full height I was still a good six inches shorter than her, "Who are you?"

"I go by Willow," She replied; gently, leading me in the direction of the tub, at least I think. "You've been out for days, and we were worried that,"

"Wait what?" I asked; I tripped over seemingly nothing as she spoke, but Willow hoisted me up. I mean seriously? Way to be a clutz, Emily.

"You've been unresponsive for three days, the few times you woke up, you were either completely incoherent or sick; we thought you wouldn't survive," She stammered, "please, let me call for help, I'll get some of my sisters and Tansy to take care of you, this whole ordeal hasn't been easy, and you might not be ready for,"

"For what?" The words came out harsher than I wanted, but she was obviously beating around the bush about something and I was so sick of people not being straight with me that I wanted to scream. "Whatever it is, I swear you can tell me." I tried to soften my voice, but I don't think it did much good.

"You wanted a bath right? Please, let me just help first before we talk logistics," she rambled, obviously trying to avoid the direction of the conversation that I was trying to follow. I looked down at the tub as Willow turned the copper knobs and let steaming water flow. The sound was almost hypnotic to me, and I silently agreed: bath first, logistics, or whatever after.

* * *

I must have dozed off, because when I awoke, the water was luke-warm, and my fingertips looked like prunes. I sighed and stretched, arching my back, the water lapping at my skin. I never realized how sore puking your guts out made a person, and my body still felt a little achy. There was a quick rap on the door, and in walked Tansy, completely unaffected by me sitting in the tub. Not that she could really see anything, since I had sunk down to my chin in the water.

"I just wanted to check on you, my lady." She explained, her voice streaked with nervousness.

"Please, just call me Emily," I responded, letting a friendly tone seep into my words. Maybe this charmspeaking thing worked on emotions too.

While the nervousness vanished from the air, Tansy's overly polite demeanor didn't. "I apologize, my lady. Also, your bed has been turned down; new sheets and everything. There's some fruit as well, I've been told that although it's from the Seelie court it shouldn't have any ill effects on you. Not like before," She said, once again, I got the feeling that people were hiding things from me.

"Tansy, can you please just tell me what is going on?" I asked; Tansy's eyes were on the floor as she walked over to some drawers and pulled out the fluffiest towel I'd ever seen.

"I don't believe it's my place to say, my lady." She spoke more to the towel than to me. I grabbed the towel when she offered it, waiting for her to evert her eyes. When she did, I stood quickly and wrapped the towel around myself and stepped out of the tub. The whole ordeal was a lot less graceful than I made it sound, probably because my head was still spinning and the speed didn't help.

"Then get me someone who can," I asked, not intending it to sound like an order, but it did.

"Would you like to meet with the king?" Tansy asked; I scrunched up my face in response.

"No," I answered, the last person I wanted to see was the one who started all this. I thought back to the few wisps of conversation I had heard during my haze. Oberon had been there, I realized that now, warning against something. My irritation at the man grew until it was a living substance hanging in the air, cautiously I brought it under control. "Bring Goodfellow to my room, he seems to know all the secrets around here," I muttered; Tansy didn't reply, she simply left the room, leaving me to myself. I turned towards the bathroom counter, white marbled faceted with flecks of gold and silver, and on top of it, making me more exciting than a tween at a Justin Bieber concert, a toothbrush. Of all the things I've seen in this world why had my mind skipped over the little things. Sure it had probably been there before, but after three day of being sick it was like seeing heaven. Haha, wow, I sound like an idiot.

I went through a normal morning routine of brushing and rinsing my teeth, followed by dragging a brush though my wet hair which somehow slid through the tangled strands without so much as tug at my scalp. When the steam finally cleared from the mirror though, I froze.

Staring back at me, was a creature that didn't exist three days ago. It was me but it wasn't. The changes I had seen when Lady Weaver had fashioned me the dress were still there, but even more so now. My eyes were bright, they looked like tiny brown and green starbursts around the pupil, flecked with gold; my cheekbones resembled the girls who had been basking in the sun when I had learned how to utilize glamour, and my body seemed leaner, not taller, just leaner, kind of like a false resemblance of height. I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry. Cautiously, I bit my lip, and moved strands of hair out of the way till I could see my ear. I wish I could say I was surprised but I wasn't; at the top of the cartilage, was a point, just like every other fey I'd seen here. I rested my hands against the counter, and took a breath. No point in crying now, I thought, blinking back tears. Now I needed answers, heck, I deserved some answers.

Resting on the counter were some clothes Tansy must have placed for me. I slipped into white cotton pants that hung low at the waist, and a flowy top the color of lilacs. I guess I have to give credit, where credit is due, these were probably the most comfy clothes I'd ever wore.

Walking out into my room, I steadied myself against the door frame, if this was going to work I needed to be calm, and most of all, not let any pesky emotions screw it up. I sort of had a plan, not a real one, but I figured it was worth a shot. Theoretically, it should work if my previous contemplations were correct. If you haven't figured it out yet, this is me stalling for time. I swallowed, and focused on controlling my facial features, and then stepped out to face him.

Puck sat on one of the old fashion love seats. You know, the ones you see in the bedrooms of rich people in TV shows and movies? Except this was my room. His hands behind his head, he almost looked asleep, but as soon as I entered, his eyes opened. The room was completely void of emotion, and I was struggling not to let my own nervousness seep out.

"I really shouldn't be here," he commented, seemingly to no one in particular; I breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all.

"Then why are you here?" I asked, trying to make my voice seem light.

"Curiosity," he muttered while he stretched, letting his arms hang on the back of the couch, "king pointy ears isn't exactly happy with me right now."

"Does it have something to do with the fact that you weren't supposed to teach me any of that glamour stuff?" I asked; I took a few steps towards him, and crossed my arms. He grinned at the realization that I had overheard his and Oberon's previous conversation.

"Probably," he replied.

"Does the glamour have anything to do with me getting sick?"

"Looks like it," he smirked when I frowned at his response. I sighed exasperatedly, giving up on the whole guarding my feelings thing. It just wasn't my style.

"I need answers," I stated, trying not to let him turn this into a game. "Real answers," I tried, softening my tone, maybe I could get something genuine out of him for once.

"Depends on the questions you ask," he started; I rolled my eyes, and dropped my hands to my sides.

"You owe me this," I started.

"I don't owe you anything," He countered.

"You dragged me here, threw me into this mess, and apparently got me sick enough that Oberon was concerned," I fired back, trying to keep my volume under control, "at this point, how much damage can really be done if I actually know what's going on?" I tried to reason. I could see the laughter in his eyes, but his lips were sealed.

"I guess you have a point. What do you want to know?" If he had been human, I would have said he's being sarcastic from the sound of his words, but I guess that doesn't really work in this case.

"Everything," I stated; he laughed.

"That's kind of a lot. Hmm, I could start with my earliest memories. Although you'll have to help me with the dates, because those centuries tend to run together. When did humans last wear togas on an everyday basis?" I fisted my hands at my sides, biting my lip to try and refuse the urge to hit him. He smiled innocently up at me, but his eyes said he was toying with me.

"Fine, why did I get sick from the glamour?" I asked; he leaned back on the couch, stretching out his legs and I was vaguely aware that he could kick me if he wanted to. I hadn't realized I was that close to him.

"Straight to the fun stuff," he rambled, "I guess you could say it's your body going through a sort of transition. A violent one, but not a bad one," he added, giving me a teasing once over that I crossed my arms and glared at him in response to. "It looks like using glamour helped speed the process up."

"Why am I going through this transition?" I asked; there was a tiny voice in the back of my head that whispered that I may not like the answer.

"I doubt you want to know that,"

"Just tell me," I said, frustrated that my conscious and him seemed to agree. Whatever, when did I ever listen to my conscious anyways; he sighed, avoiding my gaze as he studied the ceiling.

"Because your fairie side is starting to reject your human blood." I must have looked at him with a dumb expression on my face because he went on to explain. "There's iron in human blood, not fairie; however, Oberon suspected that since you're more fey than human, your body would convert to a full blooded fey. It's like a war inside you, and not a fun one, since you were puking up blood for a solid two days." He finished; I must have looked appalled, because when he looked me in the eyes, there was pity there.

"I'm not human anymore?" My voice was small; I was ready to have a meltdown right there. If I was holding back a few tears before, then I was holding back a whole dam now.

"Partially, less than before, but that will disappear too." I could taste the regret in the air, but I wasn't sure if it was mine from asking the questions, or Puck's from giving the answers, maybe both. I wanted to collapse into bed, but I forced myself to stay standing.

"How can I stop it?" I asked; my words sounded hollow.

"I don't think you can now," He answered truthfully, of course he had too, but at least he wasn't trying to disguise the truth.

"Well if there was a way before, then let's try it now." There was hope in my voice, and Puck smiled at that, but I doubt he was going to take any action. Probably just humor me for a bit. "How could it have been stopped?" I asked.

"Now, I really shouldn't tell you that," His smirk was back; but I wasn't giving up that easy. I took a few steps to close the distance between us, arms still crossed, I leaned over slightly, and he looked up at me.

"Why stop now, how much more damage could you possibly cause?" I asked; fully aware of the minimal distance between us. This time now, it was my turn to use it to my advantage. A few strange of my hair fell loose and briefly brushed his face, I didn't move to tuck it back behind my ear though.

"That sounds like a challenge," he murmured.

"You could always sneak me out of here. That would cause an uproar, I bet." I suggested.

"Except, that I would have to deal with the fall out. And keeping you here is a lot easier than sneaking you out," he replied; neither of us made a move to close the distance. It was like a game, trying to outlast the other's control.

"I don't want to be here."

"You belong here,"

"I want to stay human,"

"You're hardly human now." At that, I was wondering if this was going to go one forever.

"Then let me cling to the little humanity I have left." I asked. Pleaded. I could feel tears sting my eyes, but I didn't let them fall. I hadn't realized how much I missed home until now, but I wasn't going to break. "Please, just get me home," The words were barely a whisper as I brushed my lips over his. I was struggling to keep myself under control. My heart felt like a bird stuck in a cage, and it was increasingly difficult to keep my emotions in check, but I figured if there was any time to let them be free, now was probably it.

I let my hands rest on Puck's shoulders as his own wrapped around my waist, pulling me into his lap so that I was straddling him. There was a teeny tiny, almost insignificant voice yelling in the back of my mind, "Stop! Stop! Stop!" But I pushed it behind a mental door and locked it. Softly, I pressed my lips against his, trying to remain the one in control of all of this. I could feel the warmth of his skin through his shirt, and his hands felt like brands on my sides; feeling hotter as his grip tightened.

Before I realized what had happened, I was tossed on the couch, the wind practically knocked out of me, and before I could sit up, Puck was on top of me, one hand behind my head, his fingers tangled in my hair, and the other to the side of me, holding most of his weight off of me. His legs tangled with my own, and I only caught a flash of a wicked grin before he leaned down and kissed me. I pressed my hands against his chest at first in an effort to push him off, but soon I found myself lost in the kiss. Maybe a distraction was in order? Just for a little bit? His muscles beneath my hands seemed to tense, and not even a second later the fingers wrapped in my hair grabbed at the golden strands and pulled, successfully exposing my neck, while making me gasp at the pleasure-pain sensation.

I felt his lips trail lightly against the skin on my neck, pressing a teasing kiss to my collarbone. His warm breath tickled my skin, and I was vaguely aware of the smile on my face. Was I really happy or just enthralled? The thought vanished as I felt his lips trail back up my neck, leaving teasing kisses in his wake. If he hadn't had a hold of my hair still, keeping me firmly in place, and not to mention at his sensual mercy, I might have tried escaping the situation. There was also the fact that I didn't really want to escape.

Gently, he pressed his body against mine, and I grabbed at his shirt in response, dragging my fingers against his skin as I did. My new ability to sense emotions seemed to have shot through the roof. Passion, joy, and playfulness all seemed to dance in the air, teasing my skin at their touch. My attention was drawn back to Puck as he kissed my jaw, and then I could feel his breath on my neck by my ear.

"I told you before, those charmspeaking tricks don't work on me," My eyes seemed to snap open at his words, my head cleared, sort of, and I felt my spirit drop at the realization that my plan had failed. He released his grip on my hair, and suddenly I was looking up at him. His green eyes hovered above mine, a dangerous look in them. The hand that had been tangled in my hair now cradled the side of my face. His skin gentle and warm against mine. He leaned in, and placed a single kiss against my lips. I could feel him smirk at the same time I found myself blushing. "Nice try, princess. But I can't help you escape from here."

At that, I felt his body lift off my own, and before I knew it he was standing beside the couch, faster than I could follow and then half way out the door. He turned and gave me a playful wave, "you're getting better with harnessing your powers, but you should rest up. I wouldn't want to be responsible for tiring you out." He winked at me, yes, honest to God, winked at me, and left the room, the door quietly closing shut behind him.

I sat on the couch, completely baffled, for a few minutes. What just happened? Yes, I know what I was trying to do, I didn't expect it to turn on me though. I blushed at the thought, and then groaned in frustration. Guess I'm on my own for escaping this hell hole.

* * *

Ta-da! Another chapter done. This one was pretty fun to write, and I realize that some people may think Puck's being kind of a dick, but Emily is kind of the character whose sarcastic, smart-ass, and likes to kind of tease herself, (as evidenced by previously mentioned things), so it's kind of like her getting a taste of her own medicine.

Anyways review please! I'll try and get the next chapter up soon.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Mothers

The door clicked quietly behind me, and I headed down the hall towards the gardens. It had been a day or two since I'd seen Puck, and I wasn't interested in running into him, accidently or otherwise. My cheeks grew warm at the thought of him, but I held back any emotion that might have shown around me.

Outside was clear and warm like any other day here; it smelled like wildflowers and fresh air, with music drifting from somewhere. No matter how appealing the scenery might have been, I had a goal to accomplish.

I'd spent the majority of the time mentally mapping the area. I'd learned where the grand hall was, which was where Oberon held his court. There was a grand dining room that was probably sparsely used, right off to the side of that. The kitchen I'd visited only for a minute before I deemed it useless and uninteresting. Even though I could consume the fey food, I stuck only to the blandest of things, breads for the most part, although I ate a little fruit to keep a more balanced diet. I didn't want to risk becoming more fey than I already was.

There were several hallways that spread out from the main rooms, twisting and turning in different directions, some going up four stories high. I guess a lot of the staff or other court fey lived in the, oh what should I call it? Palace? Whatever, basically a lot of very powerful fey lived here, and as a result, there was a grand number of guards too.

The gardens were the most extensive space though. There were a few clear areas that a lot of fey seemed to like to relax on, but the majority of it was covered in various plants that, under normal circumstances, would never be found together. Some of the paths though the area were dark and daunting, the trees left untrimmed so that a person had to push branches out of his/her way to get through, and as I had previously discovered, sometimes the trees pushed back.

Like I'd mentioned earlier, I had a goal for exploring the area. Finding a way out had proved difficult so far, although none of the guards paid super close attention to me, their eyes still followed me questioningly if I wandered to close to the border. While, I hadn't had any direct contact with Puck lately, I saw him occasionally, either up to no good, or flirting with some other fey. I could never figure out if they found him charming or exasperating. The other fey weren't really the problem with finding an escape. It seemed that most the paths changed at their own will, and memorizing a certain one always proved to be useless the next day.

Basically, I figured I would just have to explore and if I get lucky one day, hopefully soon, then I'll just have to take my chances and go for it. Oh, in case anyone was wondering, I'd already tried the front gate, which had resulted in me getting hauled back to my room, and then having a conversation with a very aggravated Oberon.

Today, the garden took me into a darker part of the forest, the trees were tall with thick branches that blocked out the sunlight. Vines grew up the trees and covered the ground, making any roots that were sticking out near impossible to see. The air was hot and humid, but not uncomfortable, probably a result of the transformation. Heat had always bothered me before, but now, I barely noticed it. I could hear leaves rustle as other fey or animals wandered through the trees around me, praying that they wouldn't notice me, I walked a little quicker, conscious of every sound my feet made.

I watched cautiously as one dark green bush with purple berries rustled a little too much near me. Then I saw two gold, tiny eyes pop out and stare back at me. Standing frozen in place, I watched as a fox emerged from the bush; eyes bright, it regarded me with curiosity. Harmless animal, right? Probably not, know my luck. Staring each other down, daring the other to move, I cautiously felt the air around me, but the only thing there was my own anxiety. Calmly, I turned and carried down the path, and then there was a flash of light, and I couldn't resist the urge to look back.

Standing where the fox had been, was a woman. In fact, I even knew her.

"Willow?" I called out to her; she turned, her brown eyes amber in a ray of sunlight. She looked at me with her head cocked to one side as if she were still the fox. Then she smiled politely at me.

"Princess," she answered; I sighed in exasperation at the title. "Oberon's older daughter didn't like the political correctness of that either," she commented to no one in particular. Her breathe was airy, as if she wasn't completely focused on the conversation.

"What are you doing here?" I asked warily; her attention returned to me and she smiled again.

"I should ask what you're doing here. I live here." She stated.

"You live here?" I looked around for a house or building or something that could resemble a home. I don't know, a tent? What the heck was she talking about.

"Yes," she replied. "I'm not as enthusiastic about being privileged to live in the palace as other fey are." She paused, "Now you have to answer my question."

I hesitated, I couldn't lie now, but I wasn't sure what she would do if I told her the truth. Carefully, I planned out what I had to say. "I'm not really enthusiastic about it either," I answered. Grateful that I didn't feel that awful burn in my throat. Willow nodded as if the answer was acceptable.

"Where do you call home?" She asked, head tilted in that animal like way again.

"I, uh," I paused. Could I really go back to school like this? I could probably use glamour to mask my physical characteristics, but then using that power would increase the process of me becoming fey. Not to mention that fey apparently had an allergy to iron, and the college, let alone the hospitals that had been my life-long dream to work at, were coated in iron. "I guess it's complicated now," I muttered. "I don't really know," I tried to clarify, but that probably only made it sound more confusing.

"Where's your mother?" She asked as if it were a completely normal question.

"She's in the human world," I answered, I could feel a twinge of sadness tug at my heart. If time worked differently here, then who knows how long I've been gone. My parents were probably worried sick. "And I don't know how to get home." I muttered, barely above a whisper.

Willow looked thoughtful for a moment, her eyes seemed to alternate shades of brown as she thought, almost like I could see her brain working. "I could take you to your mother," her eyes met mine, "there would be a price of course."

I hesitated, trying not to seem too eager. "I'm up for negotiating." I replied. What will it take for you to bring me to my mother, and safely?" I asked.

"She smiled wide and eager, "Promise not to tell Oberon or any other fey where I really live. If Oberon found out I refused his generosity, he'd throw a fit." I ran her words through my head a few times.

"What if you have a friend who's looking for you?" I asked; she seemed a bit caught off guard at the question, but recovered quickly.

"Any friends already know where I live. You won't run into that problem." She stated. I thought it through a few more times.

"Alright, deal." I exclaimed, eager to be on with it. Faster than I could watch, she grabbed my hand and tugged me off in another direction.

"There's a trod over this way, that will help you get to her," Willow explained, watching carefully for any prying eyes. We took more turns than I could count, until we came upon a huge oak tree with branches that seemed to stretch for miles. "Crawl through here," she gestured at the base of the tree, where the trunk split apart in a gaping maw. I hesitated, vaguely worried it might actually eat me. "I'll be right behind you, have to get you there safely, remember?"

I did remember; carefully I sank to my hands and knees and crawled through the tree, wondering if this was all a joke and I would hit my head on the other side. When I didn't, I carried on, and emerged in a brightly lit field. The trees were still towering, but they were limited to spruce and aspen. Tall grass swayed in the breeze and the ground was decorated in patches of wild flowers.

Standing up, I took in the rest of the view. The air smelled fresh and clean, the sky was slightly over cast, but a break from that never ending sunlight was probably good for my skin anyways. Willow stretched a ways away from me, and whimsically picked a few of the wild flowers, staring at them inquisitively. I turned to look out at the field again, when something else drew my attention. A smooth stone sat sunken into the ground. I guess it wouldn't have been too odd, if I hadn't noticed another one a few yards away exactly like the first.

"Willow, I thought you were taking me to my mother?" I asked; she looked up at me, then dashed over grabbed both my hands, the flowers caught awkwardly between us.

"Of course, sorry, sometimes I get distracted," she answered, her smile touched her eyes. "This way," she added and dragged me across the field, the flowers she had picked still stuffed in my hand, it felt cruel to just drop them.

We jogged for a little bit and then came to a halt that luckily, didn't cause me to run into Willow. She turned, "There our deal is complete: I've successfully brought you to your mother, and kept you out of harm's way." She stated. I stared at her with shocked wide eyes.

"What the hell are you talking about, my parents live in the U.S., this is a forest. And there's no one here." I glared at her. With all my worked up energy, my face was probably a mask of rage, and Willow winced at my words.

"You asked me to bring you to your mother, that's exactly what I did." She rephrased and backed up a few steps. I spun in a circle throwing my hands in the air, when my eye caught another one of those gray stones. Three was way too many to be a coincidence. I looked at the ground again. These stones were scattered all over the place. All a few yards from the next, their smooth surfaces speckled the ground.

I looked at the ground by my feet, sure enough another stone rested a few inches from my boots. I absently glanced at the wild flowers in my hand, and the sardonic weight of this little excursion hit me like a brick.

I was in a graveyard.

I was holding a bouquet of flowers.

And I was standing at my mother's grave. My birth mother.

"We never left faery, did we?" I turned and asked Willow. She looked at me, her expression was stoic.

"No." And then arms wrapped around me; a hand covered my mouth with a cloth. I kicked out at whoever was behind me, tried to scream, but my voice was muffled by the rag. I tried to twist around in the person's grasp, body thrashing wildly, but I could feel myself weakening. It was a slow process, but I felt my legs go limp, and then my arms. Finally, my eyelids drooped, and it took all my strength just to keep them open. Until even that was too much, and I slipped into sleep.

* * *

Ta-da! Sorry this chapter took forever, I've been dealing with school and work and clinicals. I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can!


	12. Chapter 12

So how many people thought I disappeared? Probably, most of you. I'm really, really, a hundred times over, so sorry. I had the worst case of writer's block with this chapter, and I just had no idea where to go with it. I wrote out half the chapter, then decided I hated it, and scraped the whole thing, then I came back to it about a month later.

Anyways, please enjoy!

Chapter 12: Leanansidhe

When I woke, I found myself in a lavish bedroom laying in a bed that could easily accommodate three or four people. Not that I was interested in that sort of thing, of course. The comforter that laid over me was a deep bronze embedded with threats of gold that glittered like gems; there were at least ten pillows behind my head, all of different sizes and complementary colors of the bronze. Sunlight streamed into the room and illuminated a vanity across from the bed, the mirror had an intricate pattern of stars engraved in stain glass around it.

Since the light caught the colored glass and lit up the room like a kaleidoscope, it was the first thing I noticed. "What is with these people and mornings?" I spoke aloud as I rolled over onto my stomach and pulled the comforter over my head. Would it really kill them to let me sleep in?

I threw the covers back and swung my legs out of bed. 'Time to explore, I guess. What kind of trouble did I get myself into this time?' I silently asked myself, then quickly realized I probably didn't want to know the answer. Shuffling over to the wardrobe, I wrenched the doors open and began digging for a pair of shoes, since it would seem the boots I had brought over from the "human" world had disappeared. At least whoever removed my boots didn't remove my clothes.

"Gosh this is goddy," I commented; while scrunching up my face to emphasize my detest for the garment. It was a floor length strapless gown embellished with crystals from head to toe. I think there may have actually been a very exquisite and detailed pattern to the gems, but it was so flashy I could hardly look at it. I shoved it to the back of the wardrobe, and continued my search for shoes; four pairs of five inch, Lady Gaga worthy stilettos later, I found a decent pair of black riding boots. Just by touching them, I could tell they were real leather with a gorgeous quilted pattern on the back. "Neiman Marcus," I muttered as I pulled them on, I smirked at how torn up these were probably about to be with all my running around, getting kidnapped, and failed escape attempts. I guess my luck isn't very good in this place. 'Who the hell lives here,' I wondered.

I pulled open the door to reveal an older man, with salt and peppered hair and playing a violin as he walked down the hall. His eyes never strayed from his instrument, and I could hear muttered curses and a, "no that's not right, it will never please her," under his breath.

"Hey you," I grabbed his upper arm and swung him around, much easier than I thought it would be. The man's eyes were wild and unfocused, even as he stared at me, it was more like he was looking through me. "You're human," I murmured, I doubt he heard me. I looked him over a second and third time, definitely human, but so… lost? I warily looked on at the man who had returned to playing his violin; he was extremely talented, but so frustrated that he couldn't get whatever he wanted out of the instrument.

It was pointless; this man didn't know anything, except that darn violin. I walked past him down the hallway. Along the way there were several small creatures shuffling, or flying about. I ducked my head as something almost flew smack into my face, its wings paper thin and insect like. The various fey paid me little to no attention, just going about their business, which was mostly eagerly cleaning every inch of the place. If only I could get that excited about laundry, or dishes, or any kind of chore really. As I neared the end of corridor, I could hear a faint tune on a piano. It seemed so lonesome, and sad, it wasn't until I was standing in the doorway that I noticed I had followed the sound, and was now staring at another human! He was as lost in the music as the violinist had been. His eyes were wide and solemn, and his face looked strained in concentration. His music was beautiful, but for some reason, I got the feeling that he would never be satisfied with it.

"Who the hell let you out of your room?" A shrill voice rang through the air, tearing me away from the music to another doorway where five, uh, I don't know what they were. They were ugly creatures, that I'm sure if they stood up straight, would be as tall as myself, but they were hunched over, their limbs long, and spider like, with club-like weapons in hand. The most prominent marking they had was a red hat on each one of their heads that looked similar to that of blood. They were like some kind of garden gnome mishap, but for once I manage to bite my tongue.

"Well, it's not like the door was locked," I started; one of them growled at me and raised what I think was a baseball bat studded with shards of glass. Were these things supposed to be guarding my door? "Okay, well I can just go back, you know. It's not that far out," they took a step closer, almost in unison, and somehow I got the feeling these creatures weren't going to reason with me. "Well, shit," I muttered as I spun on my heels and ran back down the hall. The pack of gruesome gnomes came after me, yelling curses and slurs probably from a few centuries ago, but I didn't both to listen to closely. I hadn't wandered too far, but the creatures behind me were fast, and gaining, gosh I need to do more cardio, I shoved a small creature out of my way who gave a surprised "umph" and cursed me for ruining her precious cleaning. "Sor….my bad," I called back, berating myself internally for almost apologizing.

I heard multiple shouts and screams as the creatures tore down the hall after me, 'geez at least I'm trying not to be flat out rude' but the thought disappeared as I felt gnarled fingers brush against my back, attempting to grab at my shirt. I kicked it into high gear, ignoring the pain in my lungs, and sprinted the last few steps before reaching my room. Slamming the door behind me and flipped the lock that was, interestingly enough, on the inside of the room, and heard the pounding of fists and weapons against the door.

I stood there for a few seconds, breathing hard, my legs shaking beneath me. At this point I wasn't sure if I was a guest or a prisoner. The other fey practically ignored my existence. After another minute or so, I walked over to the window, and stared through the glass. I felt my heart and hopes of escaping this place drop.

The room I was in was probably at least three stories up, maybe four depending on how high the ceilings were. Below me was an exquisite garden, that looked like it belonged in front of Buckingham palace. Several tropical plants bloomed and decorated the place. Farther out, there were plants that were at least several feet tall, their branches and leaves covering the paths that I caught small glimpses of. What are those called? A Hedge maze? If I looked out farther I thought I could see the end of the maze, but really it just looked like nothingness. The garden and the maze seemed to wrap around the home I was in, and any direction I could see out the window seemed to end in that utter nothingness.

I groaned and turned my attention to the window itself, looking for some kind of latch, I traced my hands along every edge, even the glass itself, nothing was to be found. I was truly trapped this time, and so far no one even remotely friendly had appeared.

For the next hour, I spent the time wandering around the room, checking walls, behind the vanity, I even moved the wardrobe out to check behind it. Nothing. I walked into a small bathroom that was connected to my room, and although there was a small window close to the ceiling there was no latch to open it, and I really didn't feel like falling head first three stories down. By the time I had circled the room three times, checking every nook and cranny, I returned to the door that led out to the hall.

Cracking it open a few inches, I could see that no one was nearby. So I slipped through the door, quietly closed it behind me, and began searching for an exit, my eyes wide and alert for anything that looked like trouble.

One staircase and two left turns later, I found trouble.

Standing before me was a tall woman with auburn hair and hazel eyes. She wore an amethyst gown, that when I took a second look, realized it was covered in tiny little amethysts. Her skin was as smooth as cream, and she carried herself with a regalness that I'd never seen before. She was talking to a human man, the third one I've seen so far, and although her eyes sparkled as she spoke, I couldn't be sure if she was praising or criticizing.

"Oh there you are," Her voice was like a sing-song melody that wrapped around my head and made my brain fuzzy. Quickly I snapped out of it, and focused on the woman approaching me.

"Here I am," I answered her, not sure what she wanted.

"I've been waiting so long to meet you," She clasped her hands around mine, her grip was warm, but not uncomfortable, "It's such a shame that you had to go through meeting the monarchs of the iron and summer courts as you did. It must have been terrifying." She finished; I wasn't quite sure where she was going with this.

"Well, they're not at the top of my most favorite memories, if that's what you're wondering," I replied, trying not to give any information inadvertently away. Maybe my brain was changing just as much as my body. It was almost like sidestepping around questions and creating worthless answers was coming naturally to me now. "Who are you?" I asked.

"Well dear, I'm Leanansidhe. Leave it to Oberon to erase my name from your family tree." She smiled in what would have been a genuine way, except I spotted the millisecond scowl as she spoke the name of my 'father'. Ha father, more like sperm donor. I kept my amusement at the thought concealed and focused my attention on the woman before me.

"So you're my grandmother then?" I asked, vaguely aware that she was still holding my hands, her grip had slightly tightened and I wondered if she was going to let me go.

"Of course, dear. Then perhaps you have heard of me?"

"A bit," I answered.

"Then you know the precarious case of your bloodline," She commented; her tone held a hint of sympathy, but I wasn't fooled by it. If she was going to try and play me, she'd have to do a lot better job than this. "I heard from one of my servants that your human blood has already began to subside, causing you to become quite ill. If that had happened when you were with me, it would have been handled far better; Oberon was such a fool, letting you roam free and stretch your powers without guidance. If you had been here, you wouldn't have almost-"

"I wasn't alone," I couldn't help it, this lady was just going to keep going on and on; she obviously liked the spot light a little too much. "I wasn't alone when that happened," I repeated, adding some clarification. She looked at me with eyes wide, as if it was unfathomable that someone had interrupted her. Her perfect lips formed a small 'o' and she raised a hand as if to touch her face in shock. Dramatic much?

It wasn't like I was trying to defend the Seelie king, but I figured telling the truth wouldn't hurt. If this lady really cared about me, and I doubt she did, then she should know what really happened. "Why did you bring me here?" I asked, not giving her the chance to lead the conversation.

"Well, to be with your family of course," She said, her arms were stretched out at her side, as if to give me a hug. "I've been searching for you for so long, your mother hid you away the moment you were born, and no wonder why," She commented, her eyes twinkled with some knowledge I didn't know. "She was so talented, I couldn't believe I had given birth to such a beautiful voice, but she wasted it away on that ungrateful Earl King."

"I'm starting to get the feeling that you and my father have a bad history," I commented dryly; Leanansidhe frowned at my tone, but she quickly wiped it away with an amused smile.

"It's a long history, dear. Much to long for our present discussion." She turned her attention to a man approaching us; he was tall and willowy, as if he had skipped a few meals recently. His hair was blond but dull and his eyes seemed clouded in concentration. "Oh Charles, dear, do come over hear." Cautiously he stepped towards us, and Leanansidhe wrapped her hands around the man's arm. "Emily, this is Charles. He's one of my dear friends who lives here with me." I appraised the two of them with a cautious eye. 'Uh huh, dear friend, that's why he's walking around this place like a zombie.' "He's a brilliant saxophonist, and just finished a wonderful piece. You should really hear it sometime." She commented and then released him, letting him return to his wandering.

"I've seen other humans like him wandering around," I mentioned; and Leanansidhe's attention returned to me. Her eyes wide in amusement.

"Aren't they all so wonderful? Some of the most talented humans live here with me. I provide them with a tranquil space to create their music and poems and art, and they rarely fail. It's such a shame how short a human's life is, don't you think?" She asked aloofly.

"I really didn't think it was so short till a few days ago," I muttered; thinking back to what Puck had said. Could it really take me centuries to die? And that's if something doesn't kill me first. I swallowed hard and pushed the thought to the back of my mind.

"Humans live short lives, but they live those few decades with more passion and energy than any fey could manage." Leanansidhe commented, her voice dreamy. "Come, this way." It was an order, but I really had no intention or need to disobey, so I followed, curiosity getting the better of me. Leanansidhe led me through two huge glass doors that lead out into the garden. A garden that was buzzing with activity. Faeries and animals were everywhere among the colorful plants. Their laughter filled the air; it was so interesting to see so many different fey and animals coexisting peacefully. Bears and deer, and foxes and birds, and well, I'm not that good with the different types of fey yet, but there were the little pixie things and some of the taller, almost human fey like Leanansidhe and myself.

"These fey are under my protection," Leanansidhe spoke, I looked up at her in question. "Most of them have been banished from either the Seelie or Unseelie courts. A few came to me from the Wildwood, but that's a rare case. In exchange, they complete a favor for me every so often. I would like to extend that offer to you Emily, you can live here with me, safely. I can provide you with lessons to control the glamour, how to fight, and there will never be a shortage of joy and adventure. Or if you truly desire, you can return to the mortal world." My heart jumped at that, it hurt so badly, my want to return home. "But I'm giving you a fair warning: it will be harder to protect you there from the courts, not impossible, but difficult. Also, you need to realize it won't be as it once was, your human blood is slowly being eaten up. You'll be more limited to the life of a faerie." Leanansidhe looked down at me with solemn eyes, she held my hand, and squeezed it gently.

'But wouldn't it be worth it?' I still had my adoptive parents, who had probably been told about my disappearance by now and were worried sick. And then there was school and my friends. How limited would I be there? I looked down at the soft grass and brushed my foot across it.

"When do I have to decide by?" I asked, my tone weary.

"I'll give you until the end of the day. I understand that you have loved ones in the human world, and believe me, I know mortals can be just as addictive as fey, and difficult to part from; but, they don't last. The family and friends you have here with me will though."

* * *

Sooooo, what does everyone think? Tell me what you think Emily should choose, I have a couple different routes I can take this story now that I got over that darn writer's block.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Practice makes Perfect

Leanansidhe left me there in the garden, but I hardly noticed. How different could my life really be if I went back? It's not like that much had changed. I can't lie anymore, but that's really not a problem, it should be more of a good thing technically. Living longer than I should and not aging would be the real problem; I'd have to say goodbye to my friends and family; not to mention repeatedly pick up everything and moving from one place to the next.

Staying here, I wouldn't have to have any secrets, well maybe a few. So far no one really seems completely trustworthy here. Then there's Leanansidhe, what does she want with me? She'd forgotten to mention that part of the deal; but then, she may not call it in for a few years or so. It's not like I can do anything right now, heck, if I even use my powers, I get sick. I cringed at the memory.

Was I missing any critical details? I don't think so, could it really be that hard to fake my way through the human world?

I hadn't noticed I'd started mindlessly wandering through the garden, animals and fey scurried out of my way as they realized I wasn't paying attention and was liable to step on them if they didn't move. I only stopped when I reached the hedge maze. The bushes were much larger than I realized, and the path ahead of me was dark and eerie. The branches swayed ominously, but I couldn't feel any wind. There was a small voice in my head that wondered if I were to walk down that path, would the plants close in behind me? I shivered; I've been watching too many horror movies, I thought.

I turned away from the maze and returned to the garden, lying down in the spring grass and covering my eyes with one arm. It wasn't a secret that I had gotten most of the fey's attention when I was staring down that path. Maybe they were supposed to keep me here? Maybe I was more of a prisoner than a guest. I gave a short laugh at the thought. Of course I'm a prisoner, deal or not, my main focus had to be on escaping this place and returning home on my own terms. But keeping the fey out of my life from there? Well that was a problem to solve at another time.

Yet, if everyone here were spies behind my back, how the hell was I supposed to get out?

I lowered my arm and sat up quickly, my legs crossed in front of me. I could always charmspeak my way out of here. It would be so simple and effortless. 'How much of my humanity would it cost though?' I could hear my conscious clearly, despite how much I generally ignored it, it had a point. If I became more fey than I already am, how many other rules would I have to adhere to? There was the no lying thing, the don't apologize rule, the be careful about deals, and the names have power rule. Was I missing anything? For some reason, I had this terrible feeling I had forgotten something big. Big enough it could metaphorically come back and bite me in my ass one day.

I sighed, and rested my head on one hand, and vaguely gazed at the other occupants in the garden. They were laughing and talking, openly enjoying everyone else's company. A few made daisy chains and strung them in their hair, while other's chased the animals. It would be so easy to just throw everything away, but I've never been the type of person to take the easy way out. I straightened and moved to stand, when my eyes caught the gaze of another. I froze.

Before me was a sleek back bird. Its wings folded into its sides, and it gazed questioningly up at me. I would have just written it off as a very forward animal, probably just wanted bread, but there was something entirely wrong about the bird. Not that I was an expert in zoology, but there was one thing I knew.

Birds don't have green eyes. And they certainly didn't give me the desire to slap them.

I broke the eye contact, rose to my feet, and quickly walked back inside Leanansidhe's mansion. No way was this happening again. Was I going insane? Well, more insane? Now not only did I have to sneak by Leanansidhe I had to get by him too?

"Damn it," I cursed out loud, vaguely aware of the fey close enough to hear me. I half turned to look behind me, the sky was fading to a soft pink, it wouldn't be long until Leanansidhe returned for an answer, and unfortunately, if I was going to escape one captor, then I guess I had to make a deal with the glitzy, dazzling devil.

* * *

"What do you want in return for your protection?" I spit out. I found Leanansidhe in some kind of show room. The room itself was bare of any furnishing, but on the walls were paintings of various sizes. Realistic, fantasy, contemporary, abstract, if you could name the style it was there. She turned to me, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

"A favor, although, I can't say when I will call it in. Perhaps sooner rather than later is a good measure of time?" Her answer didn't tell me anything, which could only mean she was hiding something.

"What's the favor?" I asked, my arms crossed and eyes narrowed. No way was she getting the better of me.

Leanansidhe stood silent for a moment, as if pondering how she could phrase the answer with the least amount of information. At least I wasn't the only one around this place who had to stop and think about my words. "I want you to help me murder someone," she finally answered; I'm pretty sure my jaw hit the floor.

"Uh," what could I say? That certainly wasn't what I was expecting; although, I guess I didn't have any idea of what to expect, but certainly not murder. "Um, well, I've never killed anyone before, so I'm not sure I can help you there."

The faerie woman rolled her eyes at me, "I need you to help me, not carry the act out yourself. Your charmspeak is a very powerful tool; all you need to do is lure the right pieces into play, and I'll take care of the rest." I must have still been gawking at her, because she sighed heavily and then continued, "once you accept the deal, I'll reveal more of my plan, but I can't have you going off to warn people."

I still wasn't for this whole idea, but I also wasn't for staying in the faerie world any longer, nor was I interested in going through another hostage situation. "How far does your protection stretch?" I asked; quickly changing the subject.

"I can protect you from the courts and the fey under me. It would be difficult to protect you in the Wildwood or in the human world so I would prefer you stay here at least until your favor is carried out."

"And what about after that favor is completed?" I asked, pushing her to clarify further.

"My protection would extend until the day you die or fade, whichever comes first." Fade? I dismissed the word, whatever the heck that meant. "After all, we're family."

What could I say, sure someone was going to die, and I wasn't exactly hooked on that idea, but all I had to do was use a little charmspeak. It's not like I'm actually committing the murder. I argued back and forth with my conscious. Assisting with murder is still a crime though, but I got the feeling laws don't work that way here.

"Okay, I just have one last question, to what magnitude does your protection extend? If I get in a crappy situation, are you going to try and rescue me, or are you just going to say you gave it your best shot and be done with me?" Leanansidhe seemed to hold her breathe, she was obviously caught off guard, but I couldn't be sure if I had caught her in a trap. Her composure was flawless, even if she was surprised.

"You're very clever, definitely my kin, no doubt." She smiled as if I was some prized show dog that just won best in class, "If you were to find yourself restrained by our enemies, I will send a rescue after three days." I was ready to argue, but she held up her hand. "Charmspeak is rare and most fey find it almost impossible to resist. The three days are to give you time to make your own escape and find your way back to me. If you are truly trapped, held captive, or injured, then I will send for you." She finished, I mulled her words over in my head. Seems legit.

"Alright then, you've got yourself a deal."

* * *

Leansidhe had dismissed me after our conversation, stating that I needed to hone my charmspeaking skills before we could even continue with the plan. She told me to practice on the fey around the grounds. Give them little tasks to do and work my way up, make my magic last longer so that my hold over the fey would be stronger. Her instructions strangely made me think of a puppet master, which I guess, I was learning how to become.

I stared down into the soft blue eyes of a small satyr. Her mousy brown hair curled in large ringlets just past her shoulders and her cheeks were rosy as if she'd just run a marathon or was out in the cold too long. She couldn't have been any younger than me; in fact, she was probably much older, but still my hands shook and I felt that I might panic at what I was about to attempt. The only time charmspeak had been successful was on accident, and the second time… well I didn't want to think about that attempt. I bit my tongue to hold back a blush.

I took a breath in and forcefully calmed my nerves, "What's your name?" I asked, using my most friendly tone, hoping it didn't sound too fake.

"Most call me Maizlyn," She replied; easily swerving around my question. This was going to be harder than I thought. I'm too nervous. I closed my eyes for a second, and tried to focus on the emotions, if any, around me. There was my anxiety and fear, but also Maizlyn's curiosity. I grabbed at that, and pushed it into my words.

"Maizlyn, could you help me out with something?" Her head cocked to the side, and I could almost see the internal battle in her eyes. "I need you to teach me how to make the bed Leanansidhe has given me so generously. Perhaps you can show me this time?" What could I say? My mind went blank, I couldn't think of anything else off the top of my head. I waited patiently, mostly expecting Maizlyn to reject me.

"Of course, show me to your room," She answered, and started walking down the hall. I had to half jog to catch up with her and lead her in the right direction. Once there, she mindlessly went through the motions of making the bed; Maizlyn explained how she pulled the sheets and duvet up one by one, the correct order of the pillows, and how she smoothed everything out so it was tidy.

"Very well done, Maizlyn," I dismissed her and she drifted out of the bed room, paused at the door, no doubt questioning what had just taken place, and walked away. 'Well that wasn't so bad,' I thought as I walked out of the room, searching for someone else. Quickly, I spotted the ugly gnome that had chased me down earlier. He also had a plate filled with food that, certainly, he couldn't eat all by himself. My stomach growled at the smell. Leanansidhe did say practice; plus, he tried to kill me. That was all the reason I needed.

"Hey, wait up!" I raised my voice, willing him to stay in place. He froze as I walked up to him. His expression a mix of shock at why he was staying and also anger as I approached him. Clearly we still weren't on good terms, and it was only about to get worse.

There was so much food on the plate it looked like half of it was about to fall off. Certainly he had taken far more than his share, only a better reason to go through with this. I gazed suspiciously at some golden fruit, but what really made my mouth water has the golden brown meat; I could practically taste it and whatever herbs it had been cooked in.

"Can you give me a piece of your chicken? You have way too much just for yourself." The guyed eyed me for a second before offering one of the plump chicken legs to me. I took it gratefully, "You should share with the others too, I'm sure they'd be very happy." I added; I watched as he turned down the hall with the most perplexed look on his face. He walked straight up to a woman with hollow eyes and offered her a piece. Despite her initial shock at being approached by him, she took it.

I walked quickly in the other direction and down a set of stairs. I had a feeling that I didn't want to be anywhere near him once the charmspeak wore off. Eagerly, I bit into the meat, which turned out to be the most glorious thing I'd ever tasted, and sighed happily. Charmspeak definitely had its benefits.

Finishing my meal and throwing the bone in a nearby waste basket, I continued down the hall looking for my next opportunity to practice. I figured that was a nicer way to put it than 'victim'. But two seconds later I was quickly spun around and thrown up against the wall. I raised my fists ready to fight that gnome man who had caught up quicker than I had expected when I froze. The man in front of me was not the angry blue gnome, unfortunately, this guy was worse. I would have tried to move out to either side of him, but he had his hands placed on either side of my head, his arms boxing me in. I glared up at him, and for once, there wasn't a single hint of that playful wickedness I had grown used to seeing in his eyes.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I asked, half surprised it was me who spoke first. Considering my position, it probably wasn't smart for me to take the offensive.

"I would have asked you the same thing," Puck replied, his works were clipped and slightly menacing. Seriously? I guess he came looking for a fight. I scowled at him.

"I was eating, but I figured that was obvious," I threw back at him. I pulled at his left arm, trying to free myself. He didn't budge. "You didn't answer my question."

"You know exactly why I'm here," He said harshly; true, but that didn't mean I was going to comply. I could feel the anger in the air, it was like electricity, shocking my fingertips, and rubbing up against me. Fine, if he wanted to get violent, then I'm all for it. Funny, how certain emotions are contagious like that.

"I'm staying here," I threw the words at his face, not breaking the eye contact as I did.

"Wanna bet?"

"Yeah, I do," Quickly, I shoved hard at his chest and he took a step back to balance himself, which was all the room I needed. I darted under his arm and around corner, narrowly dodging Maizlyn and sprinted down the corridor. I was vaguely reminded of a similar situation not too long ago. Except this time, Puck was right behind me, and he certainly wasn't going to make this easy.

Maybe being fey made me faster, or maybe it was just the adrenaline; but I swear, I had never ran faster than right now. I turned around another corner and purposely knocked over a table that had been holding a delicate china set, which I heard shatter on the floor behind me and Puck stumble with a muttered curse. Maybe I was getting good at this.

I headed for the stairs and just as I was ready to basically fly down them, I caught a glimpse of Puck out of the corner of my eye, but coming down a separate hallway, rather than behind me. Well, whatever, I didn't really consider it as I reached the landing and headed towards a set of French doors that opened up to the garden. Where was Leanansidhe when I needed her? I yanked open a door on my right, blocking off part of the hallway as I continued down the hall. Also knocking over a chair and a weird pedestal that carried a finely crafted vase worth who the heck knows how much. I hope Leanansidhe has insurance on these things.

It was weird, if Robin Goodfellow was supposed to be such a strong fey, then why was it so easy for me to slow him down? I glanced behind me, nope still there, nevermind. I reached the doors yanked one open and slammed it behind me. Almost automatically I shot a quick bolt of glamour through my fingertips to the handles on the door, effectively locking the doors and breaking the lock mechanism so they were sealed shut. Five seconds later, I found myself rubbing my hand at my temple, trying to massage the headache away. Right, the more glamour I use, the less human I become. Not to mention the terrible sickness I get from using it.

Then, impossibly, I felt myself being jerked sideways, and two arms wrapped around me, one hand covered my mouth before I could scream. Although maybe I would have just cursed and tried to bite him, who knows. I kicked my leg back at his, but I guess Puck learned from the previous time, because he easily avoided the blow. I tried pulling out of his arms, and then throwing my weight at him, which managed to knock him off balance. Unfortunately, we both ended up falling to the ground, and while I was on top with my back to his chest for a millisecond, Puck flipped us over so I was trapped underneath him, his weight pressing against my back and my arms were pinned beneath me. I could feel his rapid heartbeat against my back; it almost matched pace with my own.

"What the hell?" I half yelled at Puck. My left cheek was pressed against the soft grass and I could clearly see what looked like Puck standing behind the glass doors that I had come out of. He stood there, arms crossed with a huge grin on his face that made me want to vomit. I would have believed it was him, except for the fact that there was another Puck currently laying on top of me. "Get off me!" I yelled my voice stronger this time, Puck just laughed at me.

I rolled my eyes and watched the other Robin through the window, he grinned, blew me a kiss, and then exploded into a burst of leaves that floated to the ground.

This place just managed to get impossibly weirder.

"Haven't you figured out that running from me, or any fey in particular, doesn't really work?" I heard Puck drawl above me. I pushed up against him, trying to wiggle my way out, but it was useless. His weight and strength combined were too much for me to get him off.

"It works fine, when you don't cheat," I shot back at him.

"I didn't cheat, not any more than you did by breaking that door or throwing all those items down in the hall," Thankfully, any hint of the malice that had been in his voice before was gone. Thankfully? Well, I guess I'd rather deal with an amused Robin Goodfellow than an angry one. "Besides, if you're so desperate to hold on to your humanity, then you really shouldn't be using glamour anyways."

"Ass," I muttered the curse at him, as I tried wriggling free again. Breathing hard, I looked up at his face out of the corner of my eye. I could see that stupid smirk on his face, "glad you're enjoying yourself," I added snidely. Despite my attempts to seem angry, there was actually some tiny portion of me buried deep down that couldn't help but enjoy the situation as well. What the hell was wrong with me?

"Didn't you learn anything from all those children's stories that humans like to read?" He asked nonchalantly, I blew out a breath in annoyance and waited for him to continue. "If they taught anyone anything it should have been that a person should never run from fey," I rolled my eyes and tried pushing up against him again, hoping that he was distracted by his own ramblings. Guess he wasn't, because I still couldn't move an inch.

"Oh really? Because in all the fairy tales I remember the fey or whatever kind of creature it was ended up dead," I retaliated; Puck rolled his eyes.

"Disney ruined most of those stories," he muttered, "but if people actually paid a little more attention to the older versions, the true ones, they might actually stand a chance against us." He continued; I sighed.

"Are you trying to make some kind of a point?" I asked, not withholding my growing irritation.

I didn't even need to look up at him, I could practically feel his smirk as he spoke, "The point is, is that you shouldn't run from fey, because we enjoy the chase," His mouth must have been right at my ear, because I could feel the air that passed through his lips brush against my skin. I opened my mouth, ready to retaliate with some smartass remark when he continued. "And some of us enjoy what happens after even more." I barely even began to consider what that might have meant before I felt teeth close over the shell of my ear.

* * *

So I figured I should try and update at least once more before the spring semester starts. What do you think? Don't you just love all the cliff hangers? I'll try and get the next chapter up as soon as possible! Reviews are always welcome!


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Deals

I don't know if I held my breath out of fear or anticipation. Maybe time stopped, or this was a really weird dream, well considering the reality I was living in now, I guess there wasn't much of chance of the second one. I could feel my heart quicken, and I wasn't sure if the feeling in my stomach was butterflies or nausea, could be both. From there, I reacted on instinct: grasping at the glamour around me, don't ask what feeling it was, I won't tell a soul, I wrapped it around us and forced heat into it. It felt like I'd locked myself in an oven, but it was worth it when Puck jumped back in shock, successfully freeing me.

The effort left me breathless, but I jumped up and ran a few yards away regardless. When I turned to look back at Puck, because I'm that idiot, I saw him still sprawled on the ground, a look of surprise on his face. Then he looked up at me, and yeah I definitely should have looked away then, because the look in his eyes was a hopeless look of confusion and hurt, as if he had no idea why I had done what I just did. I could feel heat rise in my cheeks and I had break the eye contact.

"You burned me," I had never heard him sound so, I don't know how to describe it, maybe he was just saying it out loud for himself. I glanced back at him to see if I'd actually done any damage. Of course not, he was perfectly fine, no redness or anything that looked slightly like a burn. He was just his normal tan, tall, lean-muscled se-no. I cut the thought off, where the heck did it even come from. I could feel blood rush to my checks again and I started taking steps backwards away from him. He was still the guy who had kidnapped me, tricked me, and kept me from getting home. At least Leanansidhe would let me go and have a normal life; who knows how long Oberon would send Robin Goodfellow after me?

"Maybe you shouldn't bite me," I called back at him, because I can't let anything go without having the last say. "Some people see that as aggressive," I added. I stumbled but quickly found my footing again. Turning around, so I could focus on getting back to the house, I only made it a few steps before I stumbled again, and this time I knew it wasn't because the ground was uneven. In front of me the house blurred drastically and I couldn't tell up from down; the last time anything close to this had happened, I had drank too much vodka at a pre-game.

For a second, I think I was falling, it was hard to tell, but I'm pretty sure my legs collapsed beneath me. Somehow I got into a sitting position, my head between my knees and I was breathing hard. Slowly the ground stopped moving and my vision cleared. The nausea ebbed away and I could feel tingling in my fingertips. I still felt weak and lightheaded, and I was vaguely aware of Puck sitting down next to me, gently pulling me over into his lap; but honestly, at that moment I was too distracted to care. I leaned against him, my head on his chest, and his arms wrapped around me. The tingling that had started in my fingertips ran up my arms like a slow, cool burn, and it only reminded me that I had taken one step closer to never leaving this place.

I'm pretty sure we sat like that for only a few minutes, but I guess in this place time isn't a thing. I sat up, still in his arms, which was more comfortable that I liked to admit, and looked up at him, only to see him looking thoughtfully, I think, at me. I could feel his fingers tangle in my hair, and I could feel a warmth that filled my body. Look at me, getting all dramatic, like I'd never been held by a guy before, seriously, my hormones are getting ridiculous. I frowned at the thought; Puck smirked, obviously amused by some idea that I'm sure I didn't want to know.

"I didn't expect you to react the way you did," he stated, as if that resolved everything. Seriously? That's his excuse. I opened my mouth, ready to argue, and then he spoke again, "summer fey tend to live in the moment, not to mention act on impulse, and I'm no exception to that," he finished.

"Is this supposed to be an apology?" I asked, slightly amused. I didn't linger on the fact that I was in fact, part summer fey, and that I also may enjoy living in the moment. Briefly, I thought of running through the house, Puck chasing me, my feelings of confidence, and, dare I say it, enjoyment of the event. I could feel heat rise in my cheeks, so I bit the inside of my cheek to keep it down.

"Of a sort," He answered; I felt his fingers brush the nape of my neck; I didn't think much of it, until I felt his hand wrap around the back of my neck, not intimidating, but there was definitely a threat intended, "I'm still taking you back," he added; there wasn't any amusement in his tone, but I swear his eyes were just daring me to attempt an escape.

"I'm staying here," I spoke as I mentally accepted that dare. I was vaguely aware of the audacity of this situation. Here I was, still sitting in his lap, arms around me, one hand placed threateningly on the back of my neck, face mere inches from mine, me claiming that he can't just drag me off wherever he wants, and yet, I had to push certain, unwelcome (inappropriate), thoughts to the back of my mind. Seriously? I felt like one of those idiot women in the adult romance novels who always end up with the protective, possessive, alpha-male types and they think they have it all. _This is how you end up in controlling relationships, Emily_. I repeated that mote several time over, forcing myself to believe it, "and you can't do anything about it," I added; I swear he gave me a look that screamed 'challenge accepted' and I commented, "besides, I made a deal, and it's now my obligation to fulfill that before I go anywhere." I slightly regretted the words as soon as they left my lips, when Puck's face became an unreadable mask; but, his hand slipped down from my neck to rest on my lower back, and I'm pretty sure the danger had passed.

"What deal did you make?" He asked; his tone was empty. Clearly, I was in more trouble now than I had been before.

"Does it really matter to you?" I chided; crossing my arms and looking away, which was pretty awkward to do regarding the situation I was currently in.

"Yes, I'm worried you've somehow managed to entangle yourself in some devious plot that Leanansidhe has obviously planned," He paused; and then pulled me back against himself, his arms like iron, ha, around me. I could feel him rest his chin on the top of my head as he continued, "and judging by your reaction, my assumption is correct."

I froze for a second, checking my body language and facial expressions, anything that could have revealed my thoughts was under control, so how did he- I felt the emotions in the air as soon as the thought entered my mind. Of course; I'm such an idiot. There were hints of concern and worry in the air, but there was also fear, which was undoubtedly mine. What was I so afraid of? Puck? Not likely, I doubt he'd actually do anything to hurt me, but the deal I made? Yeah, that could be it. Even more, I had agreed to help kill someone; an accomplice to murder. How was I supposed to tell him that?

What happened next was quicker than I could even imagine. Shock rose into the air, followed by panic. My emotions betraying me, but then there was that darker feeling that raised its head. Only for a second, but I could feel it wrapped around me, heavy, but not, I struggled to find the right word. Terrifying? It certainly wasn't terrifying; not even scary, in fact it was almost safe. The word didn't fit, but it was the closest I could find to describe it. I'm not an English major, and my limited vocabulary is just one of the reasons why not. As quickly as the emotion appeared it was locked back up, invisible to me.

"I'll find a way to get you out of it," He murmured; I felt the side of his face rest against the top of my head.

"You don't need to get me out of it," I sighed, "I agreed to it, because Leanansidhe will let me return to the mortal world once it's over with, and I have her protection after. I'm staying here," I repeated for emphasis.

"Then I'm staying here too," He stated, the finality in his words obvious.

"You think Leanansidhe is going to let you stay here if you plan to kidnap me?" I questioned; I didn't even need to look up at him to know that he had that stupid grin on his face.

"Leanansidhe and I are old friends, well sometimes, she wouldn't force me to leave, especially when I can stay and help this little plot move along. The faster it's over with, the faster I can get you back home, and the less time Oberon spends pondering if he should turn me into a bird or a fox for the rest of the century."

I rolled my eyes at the comment, before pushing against his arms to get up; of course, they didn't budge. I sighed in exasperation, "I'm fine now, let go," I struggled against him again for another half second.

"Are you sure?" He asked; for a quick second I wasn't sure if he was referring to if I was okay or if I really wanted him to let go. Of course the answers were yes, and yes, what else would they be? Again, I had to cut my thoughts off, because the answer to the second question I wasn't so certain on.

"I was wondering when you'd show up, Goodfellow," I froze at the voice overhead. Leanansidhe gracefully walked over from the French doors that led out into the garden. The corners of her mouth upturned and I wasn't sure if it was because of amusement or some hidden knowledge. I guess I was about to find out which.

Carefully I pulled away from Puck and slid out of his lap, he let me go easily enough. Both of us rose to our feet, and judging by the exchange in looks between Leanansidhe and Puck, I was definitely missing some critical information.

"I heard Emily made a deal with you," Puck started, a glint of humor in his eyes, and my body relaxed. Let them bicker or whatever, I'll just try and make myself invisible in this situation. "I'm staying here with her. I wouldn't want her to fall into any other traps," he added.

"And have the both of you run away at the first opportunity you get," Leanansidhe started, I had to bite my tongue to keep from shouting 'I told you so' to his face, "I was rather impressed by her ability to find the loop holes in the deal, but then I have a feeling she learned that lesson from someone else already." Her eyes narrowed, and I could feel the venom in the air as she spoke, "You're not welcome here, Goodfellow. Not until Emily has completed her favor me."

To my surprise, I saw Puck's eyes widen, but he still had that stupid look on his face that said he knew otherwise. I was really beginning to hate that look. Then he took the few steps over to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, drawing me closer to him. He looked once at me, before his gaze returned to Leanansidhe.

"Well you would be correct in saying that Emily has already learned her lesson about making deals," I felt his arm tighten as he held me closer, panic ran through my mind, of course how could I have forgotten. "In fact, she owes me a favor as well, and I think I'll call it in now." The amusement in Leanansidhe's eyes vanished.

"Um that really didn't count, it was sarcasm," weakly, I tried to clarify, the situation was still tense, "besides, I'm stuck here until I finish up with Leanansidhe, so I can't really do anything for you now." I tried to explain.

"Sorry sweetheart, it still counts," Puck replied; now looking down at me, I could see the glee and mischief in his eyes, "and while there might not be anything you can do for me, there's totally something that you can allow me to do for you," I had to take a second to figure out what he was trying to say.

"What do you want?" I asked cautiously.

"A lot of things, but for now, I want you to allow me to be your personal bodyguard. Not that I'm sort of am already, but I want you to officially recognize it. That being said, I obviously have to stay with Emily, or well, she has to stay with me."

I looked up at him in silence, and then turned to Leanansidhe who had her arms crossed and the bitchiest look on her face I could possibly imagine. Looking back up at Puck I asked, "Are you sure there's nothing else you want?"

"What I want and what I need are two different things, but this will keep me here, regardless of Leanansidhe's wishes," he finished; I sighed trying to find a way out of this. I didn't see one, and well, at least he did make the place more interesting.

"Fine," I stated and crossed my arms and then turned to Leanansidhe, trying to give her my best I'm-so-sorry-about-this,-if-I-could-kill-him-I'd-have-done-it-by-now look. "I guess I need to ask you to let Puck stay with me, because well I have to honor a favor that I owe him. Even if my thank you wasn't literal." I muttered the last part under my breathe.

Leanansidhe rubbed her fingers against her forehead; her agitation was nothing less than a beacon to what she thought of this whole situation. "Fine, but he has to stay with you, and he can't take you back to Oberon until my deal with you is complete. That is of course, if desire to go back at all." Strangely, I felt defeated, I was literally now stuck with Puck until who knows when, and when considering my ever waning humanity, that could be a very long time.

I have one last question for you, Goodfellow. There was a nastiness in her words that I had a feeling was about to complicate everything so much more. "Do you always have a thing for Oberon's daughters?" I really had no idea what that was supposed to mean until she continued, "I mean, it feels like yesterday you were pining after Meghan, who for goodness sakes, chose a prince of the wintercourt over you."

Slowly things clicked into place. Meghan was supposedly my half-sister, on my father's side. She must have been brought to the Nevernever too, and apparently, Puck had been-. There was nothing to hide my shock at the realization. Of course, it's not like I actually had any feelings towards him, just a few thoughts that I kept shoved in the back of my head and only considered, well, never. I never considered THAT as a possibility. But seriously, that changed everything if what Leanansidhe was saying was true, and it has to be.

I pulled out of Puck's arm, my body feeling numb from shock and I looked up at him in confusion. I wasn't sure if the look on his face was his own shock that Leanansidhe would say that or shame, or maybe he was just upset he'd been found out apparently. But seriously, if Meghan and I are sisters, and well, we are, then that's a little messed up.

"I'll leave the two of you to figure everything out, it seems like there's some filling in the blanks to be done. Emily, please keep practicing your charm speak, I think our plans just got moved up quite a bit," She sent one last chilling look at Puck before walking back into the mansion.

I turned to Puck and before he could even get a word out I cut him off, "If you're going to say you can explain, I don't want to hear it. I'm not in the mood for any explaining," I finished and turned towards the house, vaguely aware of Puck watching me as I went.

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Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up! Classes have been crazy lately and I got a little stuck at one part where to go next. But anyways please, review, I'll get the next chapter up hopefully soon!


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Explanations

I wish I could be mad, angry, something of the sort. Yeah sure, under any normal circumstances I would be freaking out that Puck had been, still was, who knows, in love with my sister. But really, a week ago I didn't even know I had a sister. And I don't even need to bring up the whole kidnapping, uprooting my life episode from earlier. As much as I knew I should be creeped out, angry, mad, whatever, I wasn't. It should have mattered but it really didn't. My sister was a stranger to me.

Still, that only accounts for my feelings, I guess it would be a lot more awkward for Puck, which was what Leanansidhe had intended. She wouldn't dare do anything that would make my powers waver; not when she needed me. That's the one thing I have going for me, people need me, it's the aftermath that would be a problem. For a moment I rethought the deal Leanansidhe and I had made, but no, there wasn't any foreseeable way for her to turn her back on me. I should be safe. Unless, something goes wrong with the plan; I grimaced at the thought. I hadn't covered that territory, if I fail, I realized, eyes widening a fraction, then I'm free game.

Was there a way to wiggle that detail in? That she couldn't hurt me if I failed, doubt it. I was lost in thought when I felt a hand on my shoulder, and absentmindedly I turned around, as soon as I did I regretted it.

Puck stood there, practically frozen in place, with despair on his face. "Look, I,"

"Don't bother," I cut him off; he flinched at my comment, and then I realized he was still thinking about what had happened earlier. Duh, I had been so lost in my own thoughts, I'd already forgotten, and it had been a grand total of five, maybe ten minutes. Hah, shows how much I care. "I was thinking of something else," I muttered; hoping he would stop looking so hurt.

"I can explain," he finished; there really was no getting past it with this guy.

"It really doesn't bother me," I replied, trying to change the subject. I felt the smallest burn in the back of my throat. Okay, maybe it mattered a little somewhere deep down inside my dark, sarcastic heart, but that really wasn't the problem here.

"How can it not?" The poor guy, he looked so confused. I sighed and held up my hands in defense.

"Look, my sister and I didn't even know the other existed until recently; we're not exactly close either." I explained, lowering my arms, "and overall I don't see why it would matter, because as of right now, there's nothing between us." I finished; of course, depending on how you look at my words, I may or may not have been lying.

"There's nothing between us?" He repeated; was he mocking me? I looked at him incredulously.

"Nothing," I said, as I took a step back.

"Except air," He smiled at me and took a step closer, successfully invading my personal space, "and clothes." I froze at his words, that's one way of interpreting the situation I guess. I tried stepping back again, but my back hit a wall. Blindly my right hand searched desperately for the door handle, before I ripped my gaze away from his to find it, tugged the door to my room open and slammed it behind me. It wasn't till I was sure that he hadn't slipped in behind me somehow that I dared take a breath. I could feel the color burn in my cheeks as I pushed back terrible, terrible thoughts.

How the hell could he switch subjects like that? I thought he had been just so concerned over my sister and how upset I would be, but now it was like it just didn't matter. I had to switch thought processes to distract my terrible imagination. What was I thinking about earlier? Oh right, how Leanansidhe could kill me if I failed her, and now that I really thought about it, there are a lot of ways I could screw this up, and that amount probably increased tenfold by having Puck here.

"Emily, would you be so kind, and let me in. We really do need to talk." I heard his voice from the other side of the door.

"No!" I called back at him, cursing myself, because I couldn't bring myself to yell back 'never' or 'not a chance', because unfortunately, even I knew there was a chance as much as I hate to admit.

"Please, we really should discuss how I'm going to get you out of here after we-" I ripped open the door and grabbed him by the front of his shirt and dragged him in before he could finish the thought. Slamming the door behind him, I let go and took several steps away from him. "Aggressive, but I kind of like it," he commented dryly. I crossed my arms and rolled my eyes.

"Just to remind you, I'm not going back to what's-his-name's court, not now and not after I complete my end of the deal with Leanansidhe." I said with as much finality I could muster in my voice.

"But there is a chance," he added reading through my words; I glared at him out of the corner of my eye. "Now, what's this little plot Leanan has? The more details you can give me, the better chance I have at weaseling us out of it."

"You don't need to know anything," I answered.

"Actually, now that I'm your guard, I need to know a lot of things in order to keep you safe from others as well as your own idiotic choices." He replied; I walked across the room to stare out the window, my back to him, trying to ignore his presence.

Briefly I thought back on the most recent years of my life, mainly the party filled, college years. "If you're going to protect me from my idiotic choices, you have a lot to catch up on." I added dryly. What could I say? I've made a few mistakes before, so what? Everyone has, or eventually will. I was so lost in thought over my 'human' past that I jumped when I heard his voice next to me.

"I can't undo bringing you into the Nevernever and make you unsee what you already have, no one can fix that." He leaned against the wall on his shoulder so that he could face me; I didn't turn to face him, but I could her the sincerity in his words. "And I can't allow you to leave either. The human world is filled with fey as well. Except most of them aren't apart of a court or they were banished from one, making you a prime target for revenge on the Seelie King." I mentally mulled over his words, I didn't need anyone to tell me he was right. If I returned to my normal life, it would be chaotic, but I couldn't help it. I missed my friends, and school, and my parents. Not my crazy, nonhuman magical parents, but my real parents. The people who raised me, and taught me everything I know.

"Who said I ever needed your permission to leave? Maybe I'll escape from you too," I commented, not sure what else to say. He laughed at that. The joy in his voice was so infectious it almost made me smile.

"If you ever escape me, I may just take my time running after you. Give you a few years on your own as a reward, but all fey have to come back to the Nevernever eventually, even the strongest." I looked up at him, the lazy grin on his face told me he was completely comfortable here and that any previous anxiousness or worry had dissipated.

"I'm not a full blood fey," I reminded him.

"Not yet, but if you keep using glamour as much as you have been, then it won't be long." That reminded me of something else.

"Does using my charmspeak count as glamour?" I asked randomly; if there was any way I could get out of this at least human enough to survive in the real world, then I needed it.

Puck seemed to choose his words carefully, "No, I don't think so," he paused, knowing that at this point he held every ounce of my attention, "you've used charmspeak your whole life without realizing it, so I doubt it. He leaned in closer to me, "I'm going to take a shot-in-the-dark and guess that whatever Leanansidhe wants you to do revolves around your charmspeak, since you're all of the sudden so worried about using glamour."

"You might be correct," I answered; unfortunately, I was hyperaware of the decreased distance between us, again. I focused as hard as I could out the window, putting an absurd amount of effort into counting how many flowers there were in the garden. "Why did you love my sister?" Did I mean for the question to slip out? No, at least, I think I didn't. Nevertheless, I could feel the emotions change around me for a fraction of a second.

"I think it's supposed to be me asking the questions about whatever mess you've gotten yourself into," He replied.

I turned to face him, learning against the window, letting the light chill of the glass seep through my thin blouse. The cold helped me think, kept my head clear, being this close to Puck. "If you answer my question, I'll answer yours."

"Fine," he sighed and rolled his eyes, "but don't let this go to your head. You're lucky this deal is with me and no one else. For future reference, that kind of bargain is so easy to turn around on the maker that even the damn redcaps could do it." He stated; I smiled politely back up at him, waiting for him to continue. "Meghan is one of the strongest, most fiercely loyal individuals I have ever meant. She'll go through hell for her family, which is what brought her into Faerie in the first place. She was one of my best friends," he paused as if he didn't know what to say next. "Yet I believe we wouldn't have made it together, at least not very long by faerie standards."

"So you're saying that you gave up on that?" I asked.

He smiled down at me, "I only agreed to answer one question, but I guess it's your lucky day because I'm feeling generous. No I didn't give up, I came to a realization. Meghan is the Iron Queen, once she entered Faerie I don't think there was ever a way of avoiding that future, and if you hadn't noticed, Iron is deadly to fey like myself and,"

"So what?" I argued, "wasn't her boyfriend or husband or whatever some faerie prince? He's obviously with her right now, he figured out a way to be with her that I'm sure you considered as well," I finished, vaguely aware that I had interrupted and there was a guilt ridden expression on his face; I bit my tongue to keep from apologizing.

"Yes, Ash found a way, and I helped him," he shot me a quick glare, but it only lasted for a second, "at some point, I began to realize my feelings towards Meghan were not the same Ash's. Sure I loved her, and I was willing to stay by her side through everything, but it was difficult to see her as someone other than to protect. That's what Oberon had charged me with then, what I was accustomed to, as Meghan continued to fall into more danger, those feelings grew stronger, and I believe I confused my protectiveness with actual feelings of love." He finished; I was slightly stunned, I'd never gotten such a detailed answer out of him. Never this straight to the point, I guess he was putting all his cards on the table and now it was my turn.

"Is that what you see in me? Someone who needs protection, an order to carry out by your king?" I couldn't help the tiny sliver of distain tinge my voice, it's not like I was upset. No, his answer made perfect sense, in fact I was glad he hadn't gone into some desperate declaration of sappy lost love, but something in my own thought process nagged at me.

"Meghan did what she had to out of love and loyalty. You are reckless and just a little self-centered." I was started by his statement, the words were curt, but they didn't feel entirely like an insult, "and that means, while you might drive me insane, that you'll look out for yourself, and won't try to be a hero." I was slightly aware that he hadn't really answered my question, but before I could speak, Puck continued, "although you must have gotten yourself into some kind of trouble with Leanansidhe with what I've gleaned already. Your turn, sweetheart. What deal did you make with Leanansidhe?"

I swallowed hard, nerves eating me from the inside out. Suddenly, the cold at my back from the window was flushed out as heat rose. Maybe it was guilt that caused my cheeks to turn red, but then he had just claimed that I'm the type to look after myself first. And I'm certainly not a hero, probably the opposite at this point. "Leanansidhe said she would let me return to the human world with her protection or let me reside with her here, also in her protection,"

"I know what she's promised you," he was in front of me know, close enough that he blocked most of my line of sight. I really need to stop getting myself into these situation.

"And in return I will help her kill someone," I finished, biting my lip, waiting for an outburst, lecture, some sort of rage from him.

What I didn't expect was for him to raise an eyebrow and calmly ask, "who?"

"I don't know," I answered; obviously now aware of the stupidity of the answer. I hadn't bothered to figure out who the intended victim was, it could be Oberon for all I knew. That would look great on a resume, some shrill voice in the back of my head said. Patricide, it can be put down under my achievements and next to highest GPA in my sorority.

"You don't know?" Great we were playing the parrot game again. "You agreed to help murder someone, but you don't know who?" Did restating the answer just help him think it over?

"That's pretty much what I said," I replied, not looking up at him. Who would Leanansidhe want dead? Oberon was a real possibility, I think Puck said they had a disagreement or something before, but then there was also that Mab person. Then again, there was no reason I could see that would say the intended target is a member of the winter court.

"I bet it's Titania," Puck muttered; I looked up at him in confusion, "Leanansidhe hates Titania, Titania hates Leanansidhe, old news, kind of a long story, but it would make the most sense."

"If they've hated each other for so long, surely one of them would have killed the other by now," I commented; I guess it made a little sense. Puck had told me I would be safe from Titania, because she was aware of the severity of the situation that required me to stay in the summer court. Maybe this was the severe situation, which I had walked right into.

"Eh politics get a little complicated; they're usually just passive aggressive towards each other, maybe one will steal something from the other now and again, but I would think there's a bigger reason behind it. Leanansidhe, wouldn't be content with her just death." Great, but then again, once Leanansidhe's target was dead, I was cut loose of the deal. "Now we get to find a way to protect the one woman I can honestly say I hate. Oh joy, and to think, we wouldn't even be in this situation if you had just listened to me." I glared up at him, arms crossed in front me.

"I think it's a little late for scolding," I said, "but if we want to be proactive, then you figure out how to keep Titania alive, since you're so certain it's her, and I'll take a nap,"

"How the hell is taking a nap, proactive?" He asked, slightly taken aback, although he seemed amused.

"I have a headache, and I need to work on the charmspeak thing later. If I can't master that, then I'll be stuck here forever. With you," I finished, and pushed past him. Walking to the edge of the bed, I turned back to face him and pointed towards the door. "You can leave now, please."

"What, I'm not invited to stay?" I rolled my eyes at the idiotic question.

"Of course, you're not invited to stay," I called back, thrusting my arm at the door again, "however, I will invite you to stay in the room down the hall from me."

"It would be easier to keep you safe if I stay here. Plus, as a bonus, I can keep you warm too," nevertheless, he walked towards the door; I kept my gaze to the floor to avoid eye contact with him.

"I don't need anyone to keep me warm," I muttered, not sure if he heard me.

"Another time then," I glanced up to watch him leave through the door and shut it behind him, finally, giving me some peace and quiet to sort through everything. We seemed to be back on good terms, or well, whatever terms we were on before Leanansidhe's little play. But if the target really was Titania, how the heck did Leanansidhe expect me to help her. I might be able to charmspeak, but Titania is still a queen.

I laid back on the bed, thinking of everything I had learned. I'm self-centered and I'll never play the hero, thanks for that Puck. I guess it was honest feedback; and it's not like he was suggesting a change. I could feel sleep weigh down my eyelids, it had been a while since I slept and overusing my powers didn't help. It took maybe seconds for me to drift off.

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Another chapter up! I don't know how many chapters there will be at this point. I sort of have a plan for the story, but then I'm also sort of making it up as I go. Anyways, reviews are always nice, please! Hope you enjoyed it.


	16. Chapter 16

I apologize for not updating in forever. It was partly cause of classes, partly cause of work, and partly cause of writer's block. While I have an idea for where this story is going and how it is going to end, getting there is kind of up in the air when it comes to all the smaller details. So, hoping this chapter appeases you and makes up for the long wait, I'll quit rambling and get on with it.

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Chapter 16: And Sparks Fly

If anyone's curious, no I did not have a good nap. I'd spent the last hour tossing and turning in the bed, throwing the covers off, and then tugging them back up to my chin repeatedly. Trying to get to sleep wasn't the problem, it was my dreams. An hour long torment of watching myself turn from human to fey and back again until, well I didn't turn back to human. Not to mention there were multiple failed attempts of me luring Titania to her death that ultimately failed, which was then followed by my own brain conjuring up very detailed ways that I could be tortured, at both Titania's and Leanansidhe's hands. Hey, they finally had something to bond over.

I sighed loudly and sat up out of bed, rubbing my face with my hands as I desperately tried to erase the images that were imprinted on the back of my eyelids. The throbbing headache from earlier had dissipated at least, leaving my mind free to figure out whatever the heck I needed to figure out so that I didn't end up chained in a dungeon: how to lure Titania to her death. Was I selfish? Yeah, a little, I was briefly reminded of Puck's previous statement, but I couldn't deny it. If it came down to a near stranger's life and mine, I'd save my own ass any day of the week. Sure it wasn't pretty to admit, but it's not like I can lie.

I frowned at the thought, can't even lie to myself now, damn. I briefly finger-combed my hair into something presentable, stretched, and reached for the door. When I peeked my head out, desperately begging any and every deity in existence that a certain unfathomable redhead wasn't anywhere close, I found the hallway silent.

It was almost a nice surprise, except I had a terrible feeling that I tried to bury deep inside my subconscious that something was very, very wrong.

I gently shut my door, trying not to make a sound as I stepped gingerly down the hall to the stairs. Luckily, I didn't have to pass Goodfellow's room and risk disturbing him, that is, if he was even in there. The dead silence was really starting to get to me. Have I gone deaf? I don't think I've ever heard this place so quiet before. There was always fey running around, and then there were the birds in the garden, other animals, not to mention Leanansidhe wasn't exactly a quiet person, and then the music…

That was it! There wasn't any music playing. Not a single tune or song could be heard, I hadn't even realized the place had been filled with music before, and now it was just gone. I stood there, at the top of the stairs, looking around dumbfounded. There wasn't a single creature lurking about. Was I dreaming? No, definitely not, I would never put my money on that answer again. Alien abduction? Seemed a little far-fetched, but considering what I've been through… I shook my head, no I'm not that delirious yet.

Walking down the stairs and aimlessly wandering for about five minutes led me to a broad set of doors that stood floor to ceiling, intricate mandala patterns etched into the wood, with what I'm pretty sure was gold embedded in the carvings. I could hear Leanansidhe's sing-song voice on the other side of the door and briefly braced myself for anything when I swung open the door.

I remember a time in high school, you know, the government-ran, poorly funded educational system that no one takes seriously, because it's nothing more than a babysitting technique for people who are too old to stay home with mom, but too young to fend for themselves? Anyways, somewhere along the lines I decided to gamble with my precious high school GPA and took AP calculus. While the class went fine, the final test at the end was, well, a shit show, to say the least. Studying got me nowhere, staying after class and spending my lunch with the teach did me no good, and despite how I had convinced myself that a full night's rest before the big test was exactly what my brain needed to magically pull all the information together and get an A on the test as well as some college credit. Well, I ended up taking one look at the test questions, then closed the book, and processed to sulk at my desk for the remaining duration of the test.

Needless to say, I suck at math. Much like I suck at awkward family reunions with family members that a short while ago, I didn't even know I had.

There I stood in the doorway, eyes drifting over Leanansidhe then Meghan, and then Ash, my uh-brother-in-law? There was a handful of other fae in the room, a mix of Leanansidhe's exiled and Meghan's iron court, who lingered around, but they mostly kept their mouths shut.

"I was looking for the kitchen," I muttered and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind me. I turned ready to walk away as fast as possible without looking frantic, when I bumped face first in a hard, muscled chest, that I really wish my female brain hadn't noticed as much as it did.

I looked up at the person blocking my way, and Puck grinned down at me, clearly pleased at thwarting my attempt to escape, if you could even call it that. I sighed in disgust, "I'm not in the mood to argue."

"Good, then you'll have no problem turning around and being sociable with Leanansidhe's guests. And I don't mean cursing or being a smartass, or really anything that would come natural to you." Puck had his hand on my arm now, ready to turn me around and go act like some dainty young lady from the fifties.

"Like you're any different," I muttered, shrugging off his touch.

"What was that?" Puck asked, his voice filled with amusement that had be automatically rolling my eyes at him. "Are you trying to say we're the same?" He asked, egging me on.

"We have nothing in common," I pushed past him, "for instance I don't kidnap people and uproot their entire life."

"But you'll help murder them," he added; my eyes went wide half out of shock and half out of anger. Instead of some rude comment, I settled for giving him my nastiest glare and storming off.

* * *

"How dare he? That stupid, obnoxious, nosy, prick! I wouldn't even be in this situation if he hadn't dragged me into the Nevernever in the first place." I kicked a nearby wall, a satisfying thunk vibrated through the air, but other than that there was no damage.

I settled for wandering the mansion again, looking for opportunities to practice charmspeak and mentally pushing down the reason why, because I would never admit that Puck was right. I didn't see any of Leanansidhe's guests rummaging around the area, and I'm sure due to their nature Leanansidhe had warned Meghan to keep her fey on a tight leash so to speak. Unfortunately, because of the iron court's presence, the exiled fey were difficult to find. It became apparent to me that the fey that had been in the room with Leanansidhe were most likely there against their will, serving as guards if the iron fey were to attack.

I half expected Puck to have whisked me away and right into a seat at that table with the rest of my "family", but he never showed. Maybe he found someone else to bother for a while, oh well, suits me. I pulled open a door that should have led to my room, but in its place was a small library shoved onto crowded shelves, books stacked in towers in the corner, some piled on a desk. I closed the door, slightly mystified. Well, that was new.

I retraced my steps down the hall, opening doors as I went. Music rooms, art studios, another library, on and on they went; but, my room seemed to be missing. I groaned inwardly, great, I'm lost.

"Can I help you?" A masculine voice said behind me. I turned to see a tall man, not much older than me, with spiked hair dressed like a British punk rocker and violet eyes. He had a genuinely polite smile on his face, but I swear I could see faint sparks of electricity run through his hair that told me otherwise.

"No," I replied and turned away. Not wasting time standing there like an idiot, I continued down the hall, but the guy apparently couldn't take a hint.

"You seem lost, are you sure I couldn't assist you?" There was a tension in the air that I really didn't like. I turned back to face the guy, who had managed to get much closer than I would like.

"I'm exploring, now beat it." My words were clipped as my eyes darted from side to side, looking for an escape. "Besides, shouldn't you be with the rest of the iron fey? I'm pretty sure Leanansidhe wouldn't be pissed to hear an iron fey has been roaming her halls. You're probably the reason all the other fey are hiding."

"Leanansidhe doesn't know I'm here," he answered, clearly not worried about that piece of information reaching Leanansidhe. At that moment, realization mixed with instinct seemed to kick in. Not half a second after the words left his lips, the man reached for my wrists, trying to grab me. I side stepped just in time, and slammed a fist into his gut. The guy doubled over, while I ran past him, but he managed to recover in time to grab my forearm and swing me around. Using the momentum, I slammed my shoulder into his chest, causing him to stumble back, but other than a slightly surprised look on his face, he seemed unscathed.

For a second we just stood there, my eyes darting back and forth. No weapon, no quick escape, and well as much as I hated to say it, no stupid summer fey to save me. I had glamour, no that wasn't an option, not if I wanted to salvage any chance I had at getting home. But, I also had charmspeak, and that wouldn't steal my humanity.

"What do you want with me?" I asked, putting as much power in words as I could. The air felt heavy around us, almost warm with my magic hanging in the air, but the man didn't seem the least bit affected. "What do you want with me?" I repeated, then to my astonishment, the guy pulled a thin cord down from each ear, with the most bemused expression on his face.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Headphones, the guy had headphones in and couldn't freaking hear me?! I was so stunned that I narrowly escaped his next move. I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist, without thinking I placed my hands against his and blasted heat filled glamour up his arms. He jumped back with a shout, and I pulled away, ready to sprint, when he lunged at me, dragging us both to the ground.

I raised my hands, ready to do whatever it took to get away, when his eyes sparked a brighter violet and he placed a finger at my temple, his expression calm but somewhat reluctant. "Lights out," I barely comprehended his words as an arc of electricity jolted through my body, leaving the word dark.

* * *

Yes, this chapter is short. I was going to make it longer, but decided to split it up, because I really wanted to get something up quickly for you guys to read. Reviews are always welcome and helpful when I'm stuck at a particular spot! I enjoy reading each one!


	17. Chapter 17

I'm back with a new chapter and I think it's a pretty good one. I will say that this chapter does not go above the T rating, but it does probably push the limit, just to warn you. Happy reading!

Chapter 17: Tension

"I'm just saying, you didn't need to electrocute her." A muffled voice above me spoke. I groaned and tried to move, or at least I think I did. "Besides, who even invited you? You weren't part of the plan." The voice above me spoke, I tried to move again, but something was restraining me.

It vaguely came to my attention that I was moving, just against my will. The restraints against me weren't tight, in fact, as I vaguely became more aware of my surroundings, it felt more like they were holding me up. My face was pressed against something soft, the texture I couldn't name, but it was warm and if my body actually did what I told it too I would have snuggled right up next to it.

"My queen invited me, and how else were we going to get her out of there?" Seemed a little redundant to answer that question, my conscious thought. Who else would have iron fey at their disposal? I felt my body flinch involuntarily as my mind slowly put pieces together; my restraints tightened for a minute, and then relaxed once it was obvious I wasn't about to jump up and make an escape.

Queen, iron fey, electrocute? My brain felt dizzy with the information. All I really wanted to do was cuddle up to whatever it was that was keeping me warm. If I imagined it, my restraints weren't really keeping me hostage, they were just holding me, even kind of gently if I thought hard enough. I tried to move my weak limbs again, and this time I must have succeeded because the restraints tightened, pulling my body closer to the warmth where the air was crisp like a sunrise and smelled vaguely of, apples?

My blissful thoughts ended there. Something was wrong. I could feel a sense of urgency coarse through my veins as I tried to open my eyes. It wasn't easy, I had to try multiple times to escape the blackness and even when I did my vision was blurry. For a little bit, everything was colored green and fuzzy. That is until my vision cleared and I could see dense trees above and around me, blocking out the sky, and certainly making any chance of escape near impossible for me. There was no way my body in this state could manage that physical feat. Dodging and weaving through the forest. I'd tried that once already and it hadn't ended well.

When I felt an odd, but rhythmic beating against my cheek, it startled me enough to gasp at the feeling. The soft warmth I'd found so comforting a minute ago was suddenly alive, the vibration continuous, how had I not noticed it before?

"I think she's finally awake," the voice above me spoke. My eyes slid lazily to the source of the sound, although it took a second for my sight to adjust. When it did clear, I felt the blood drain from my face.

"Ahhh!" I screamed and struggled against the restraints, which were really Puck's arms, which means I actually had my face rested against his chest, which was vibrating, because he had a heartbeat, and he was warm, because he was a summer fey, and I had actually wanted to… Nope. Not going there. Never going there. I continued to struggle, my attempts weak at first, but slowly increased, until the arm under my legs disappeared and I felt my feet touch the earth. Instantly, the muscles in my legs gave out, and I felt Puck's arms wrap around me, holding me up so I wouldn't fall on my face.

"I expected her to be out longer. Most can't recover from that much electricity in their system that quickly," My head snapped up as I glared daggers at the speaker. The iron fey that had apparently electrocuted me stood calmly, arms crossed with a contemplative expression on his face, as if he was perplexed by my sudden consciousness. I wanted to scream at him, but my throat muscles didn't want to work, and I needed to save all my energy for whatever was about to happen next. I saw Meghan and Ash out of the corner of my eye. Meghan looked both shocked and relieved; Ash's face just said that this whole ordeal would have been easier if I'd stayed unconscious, and well, to some degree he was probably right.

"Let me go, you-" I didn't get to finish the insult as I felt Puck's arms release me, just like that. I stood for all of maybe two seconds before my knees began to buckle and I began to sink to the ground. I felt his arms wrap around me a second time, pulling me up so at least I wasn't kneeling in the dirt.

"I thought proving a point would be easier than arguing with you." Puck stated flatly. The lack of humor and friendliness in his voice vexed me a bit, but I had more important matters to attend to.

"Where are we?" I asked to no one in particular; Meghan answered.

"We had to get you out of there as quickly as possible. Glitch wasn't supposed to use that amount of force, but gosh you are stubborn," I bit my tongue, holding back rude, and probably unnecessary remarks. "When Puck contacted me, saying he'd found you,"

"What?" I tried to break away and turn on Puck, but he was too strong, and I was still too weak, so I settled for craning my neck to look up at him. "This was your plan, to kidnap me? Again. You couldn't fill me in on the details on what was happening?"

"I figured it would be more realistic if you didn't know," he replied; there was the faintest glimmer in his eyes that hinted at teasing.

"Who cares about being realistic? I wouldn't have gotten my ass electrocuted to the point where I can't even stand!"

"Actually, you were unconscious for a good two hours," Glitch clarified, "although you should have been knocked out for the rest of the day at least," he finished, murmuring to himself.

I groaned in frustration, desperately trying to stand on my own. "This kidnapping thing is getting old. Real or not, it's like the only way this story actually moves along. Sister wants you in the iron court: kidnap her. Summer king wants you in the summer court: kidnap her. Bane of my existence thinks I'm in danger and needs to bring me back to said summer king: kidnap her. This shit is getting old, don't you have any new ideas?" I ranted.

"Well it works pretty well," I heard Puck answer above me; I tried to turn and kick him, but I was still too weak to move without his support keeping me up. Carefully I braced my legs and tried to stand, they wobbled for a bit, but there was no way I could move without tipping over. Not to mention my whole body still felt jittery from the electricity, like it was still surging through my veins; of course, there was no way it had anything to do with Puck holding on to me.

"We need to keep moving, we still have a good ways to go, and I'm sure Leanansidhe has noticed your disappearance by now." Meghan spoke from a little bit further ahead. I could see her blue eyes look me up and down, "you still can't walk." Well, thanks for stating the obvious, luckily, I held my tongue. Probably not a good idea to piss off your rescuer, or captor, not sure which at this point.

"Just give me some time. I'll manage," I mumbled and tried to take another step; as soon as I shifted my weight, by knees went out again.

"We don't have time for this, just carry her, Goodfellow." Ash spoke, he'd caught up with Meghan and Glitch was right behind him.

"You do not get to tell me what to do," Puck called back, although he didn't seem angry.

"I don't want anyone to carry me," I yelled at them both.

"You may not want anyone to carry you, but I'm pretty sure you need someone to carry you," I could feel Puck's breath tickle the skin on my neck as he spoke.

"Shut up," I replied while refusing to acknowledge his statement. Then, I felt myself being hoisted into the air, and thrown over his should as he started walking, his arm gripped firmly around my legs to hold me in place. "This is not cool."

"You heard Meghan, we need to get moving," Puck stated dryly. I tried wiggling my way free but, he was too strong, then I remembered a recent memory of the same thing happening back when I was convinced I was 100% human. I sighed loudly, and settled for sulking as Puck caught up with the others and we continued our journey to who knows where.

* * *

"This is getting seriously uncomfortable," I stated to no one in particular. I didn't know how long it had been, maybe an hour maybe two. Who knows maybe even a whole day considering how wacky time is in this place.

"I could turn into a horse, and you could ride on my back," Puck commented not so helpfully.

"I am not riding you."

"Maybe not today," Puck started, I was suddenly hyperaware of his hold on me, and how one hand gripped the back side of my upper thigh, his fingertips barely brushing the curve of my ass. My cheeks, actually I'm pretty sure my whole face went red. I really need to think before I speak.

"Knock it off, Puck, that's my little sister," Meghan commented from somewhere in front of us. Great, now our bantering had an audience.

"You didn't even know you had a sister until like three weeks ago," Puck mentioned.

"That doesn't change anything, now be a gentleman and get your hand off my sister's butt,"

"It's not on her butt," Puck called back, I could hear the smile in his words; this was entertaining to him.

"It's close enough!"

"This is getting awkward," I head Glitch call out, and I silently agreed with him that, yes, it was.

"Just put me down already,"

"You can't walk," Puck reminded me.

"It's been a few hours at least, maybe I can now." I started squirming around until Puck relented and set me on my feet. His hands rested low on my hips as he smiled innocently down at me. I turned around facing the others and tried to walk as if nothing had ever happened. I stumbled a few steps, but the important part is that I didn't fall flat on my face, which had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Puck had repositioned himself behind me, ready to catch me if I suddenly dropped to the ground.

"See, good as new," I exclaimed to the others, they looked at me doubtfully.

"It doesn't matter, once we cross the bridge into my court's territory, Leanansidhe can't follow us." Meghan spoke, her eyes full of concern.

I finally took in the surrounding area. It was still densely covered in trees and plants, most of them green, but I could see a few that looked like the leaves were made out of slim sheets of metal, glinting faintly in the light. In front of us, was a bridge, large enough for two semi's to pass each other comfortably. The structure glinted gold and copper, and was covered in plants what were in full bloom. On the other side, it looked like the forest finally gave way to some sort of flat valley, where a more modern rode probably lead to wherever Meghan was taking us.

Behind me, and what I had been looking at for most of the time, was green and dark, and reminded me of all the fairy tales I had heard of growing up, well the scary ones. Which, makes sense now that I think of it. I'm literally in the land of fairy tales.

"Yeah, about that, Meghan, it's great and all that you helped us out, but I never said I was taking Emily back to your place," Puck stated, for once he sounded slightly regretful.

"It's the safest place for her," Meghan replied.

I looked back at Puck and then at Meghan. My sister looked like she knew what she as saying, all royal and all, but there was a slight hint of confusion in her words that I just couldn't help but pick out. I looked back at Puck, who was all serious again.

"I doubt that," he answered finally, not giving anything away.

"No fae from the Seelie or Unseelie courts can get to her, nor Leanansidhe's. I know my dad put you in charge of her, but this will make all of our lives easier." Meghan's voice was stern, and to Puck's credit, he didn't bend to her will like every other fae probably would.

"Except if she goes in there, her life won't be very long to live," Puck stated flatly. His words caught everyone's attention, Ash and Glitch turned to look at him, but I'm pretty sure we all had varying levels of confusion on our faces.

"Maybe you should add a little more detail, Robin." Ash said it like a suggestion, but I got the gut feeling that it was more of an order. Puck didn't make any snide remarks though.

"Emily's apart of the Summer Court, going in there will kill her."

"She's still human," Meghan challenged, "it didn't bother her last time."

"Last time she was there, she thought she was completely human and had no idea the fae even existed. Besides, she's started using glamour now," there was a look of pain on Meghan's face at Puck's words, "which means it won't be long until she's a true member of the Seelie Court."

"I told you that's never happening!" I couldn't take it anymore. I turned to Meghan who eyed me with those pained eyes like she pitied me for some reason. "Look, I'd love to go back to your castle or home or whatever and play house and be all safe and cozy; unfortunately, I have to work a few things out before that can happen, so I'm going to have to side with Puck on this, I need to go to the Summer court and tie up a few loose ends." The words rushed out of my mouth, but Meghan's expression didn't change. I was missing something. "What?"

Meghan ignored my question and turn her gaze to Puck, anger smoldering in her crystal blue eyes, "can it be reversed?"

"I doubt it, not without putting her through what Ash went through," I was getting really tired of all the cryptic language. I looked at each of them. Meghan held Puck's gaze before she turned and looked at Ash who shook his head. Glitch stood slightly back from the others, obviously finding some kind of entertainment in this discussion, but overall, even his eyes sparked with concern, like they literally sparked, weird.

"Can someone please tell me what the heck I'm missing?" I yelled, drawing everyone's attention again.

"You didn't even tell her?" Meghan said with astonishment. Her eyes were wide, I could hear someone sigh, although I wasn't sure who.

"It hasn't exactly come up yet," Puck started.

"What? You mean that you didn't tell her the consequences of using her glamour would be? That she would turn into a full blooded fey?" Meghan rambled, her hands in fists at her sides like she was trying not to slap him. Around us the trees swayed as the wind picked up. Leaves, both plant and metal floated to the ground around us.

"I already know about that part," I exclaimed. Seriously, I felt like we just went around in a huge circle. "I've used as little glamour as possible, but sure, I've slipped a few times, big deal. I'm still pretty human."

"Did you tell her what else will happen when she loses her humanity?" Again she ignored me, way to be a big sister, Meghan.

"Oh my god, I'm right fucking here!" I yelled and kicked the ground. Seriously, these people, or um fae. Meghan flinched at my movement, her gaze finally meeting mine, and she was obviously pissed off. Not sure if it was at Puck or at me or maybe both. But I'm pretty sure it was mostly at Puck.

"Faeries don't have souls, Emily. What do you think is going to happen once your fae blood has eaten away your humanity?"

I blanked at her words; at first they didn't click. What did that have to do with going into the Iron Court? Or Ash? Or soulless faeries?

"We don't actually know that for sure," I heard Puck mutter, although I'm not sure if anyone besides myself heard.

Things started to fall into place. Humans have souls, or at least they apparently do, I've never been a super religious person. Faeries don't have souls, which made sense. The certainly acted like it. I'm mostly fae, but still clinging to humanity, barely, so if I lose that part of me…

"That's not possible," I muttered as shock over took me. I felt the blood drain from my face, my already shaky legs barely managed to keep me up right.

"We don't know if that will happen," Puck repeated, probably trying to calm me down. It didn't work. You can't just calm someone down right after they learn that they're going to lose their soul. I had a right to panic and to have an emotional breakdown.

"How much glamour has she been using?" Meghan turned back to Puck, her face hard as stone as she looked at him.

Puck hesitated before answering, "enough that I don't want to risk you taking her in there," he paused, I could feel his eyes on me, trying to assess if I was going to collapse or not, "she needs to go with me."

I snapped out of it. "I don't need to go fucking anywhere, with any of you!" I was angry, angrier than I had ever been in a long time, and I wasn't sure why. Shouldn't I be sad? Depressed? Maybe a little miserable? But nope, all I could feel was anger, and I was ready to lash out at anyone and everyone. I pulled myself away from Puck, not wanting to feel his arms around me, like I needed anybody's help. My legs felt steady, energy flowing through them, although a voice somewhere in the back of my head to me not to push it. "All I need to do, is get back to the summer court, and then get the heck out of here. I'm not going home with you," I pointed at Meghan whose eyebrows were raised in astonishment at my sudden outrage, I guess we didn't share a temper, "and I'm not staying in the summer court with you," I pointed to Puck, who studied me curiously. "Now, if anyone else thinks they need to have a say in my life, feel free to voice it now, otherwise, I'm out." I turned and walked away from them all, making my own path through the trees that bordered the Wildwood and the Iron Court.

"Stupid, fucking faeries," I muttered under my breath, I tugged at a branch of a low tree that was in my way, literally pulling the thinner part off. My anger knew no bounds apparently, even trees were potential victims.

I stopped and stared at the branch, it wasn't much maybe a foot or two long, with those metallic leaves that glinted in the light. Curious, I pulled one leaf off and tossed the branch. Flipping the leaf over, I ran my fingers across the surface. The leaf bent to my will and felt soft, but still smooth like metal. It was pretty, a small apart of my brain noted. I watched the light bounce off the surface of the leaf, then I felt a warmth against my fingers that held it. It grew until suddenly I couldn't take it.

"Ow, fucking-" I threw the leaf on the ground, my fingers red and hot where they had touched the leaf. "Stupid iron, stupid leaf," I muttered and crushed the lead beneath my foot as if it had purposely hurt me. "Stupid faeries," I continued on my path, wandering blindly, which yeah was also stupid, but I really didn't care. I'd never been so angry in my life, it was like anything I even looked at made me mad. The iron trees with the burning leaves, the lack of time, the forest that, no matter how many dangers lurked inside it, it just had to look enticing and beautiful at the same time.

"Emily!" A voice called out somewhere behind me. It was male, and I really, really didn't want to deal with anyone right now. "Emily," it repeated, closer now, but I didn't run. A hand grabbed my arm and spun be around, I let it, but then pulled out of reach when I meant Puck's gaze. "Emily, I'm-" he caught himself before finishing that sentence.

"You're what?" I asked spitefully, "You're sorry? Huh, is that even possible?" I yelled; he flinched at my words, but he didn't look hurt. I couldn't decide if he was irritated or angry, maybe both. "But then again, apparently you don't have a soul," he rolled his eyes at that and crossed his arms, "and I guess I'm losing mine! You didn't think that was important at all?" I asked, not expecting an answer. He let me continue rambling for a bit, watching me with cunning eyes.

"What you think this is a joke?" I asked, again not expecting an answer. I could see it in his face, he might be mad and this could be the most dire situation of my life, but he still found something funny about it. Jerk. I groaned and stalked away from him, fisting my hands at my sides, I probably called him every name in the book.

I got maybe a few yards away before he grabbed my wrist and spun me around again. This time, I pushed hard at his chest and he fell back a few steps. I could feel anger and amusement flash through the air around us, what an odd mix of emotions part of me thought, the rest of me just became even angrier.

I turned again, but this time I felt something whiz through the air by my ear and a dagger embedded itself in a tree close to me. I blinked in astonishment then spun around so fast I almost lost my balance and glared at Puck. "You asshole," I stated practically baring my teeth at him. He held another glass dagger in his hand, where it had come from I had no idea, not that it mattered anyways. He threw a fucking knife at me!

Puck twirled the dagger in one hand and stood almost patiently waiting for my next move. I started to turn away again, thought better of it, and lunged at him, hoping to catch him off guard. It only partly worked.

I had no weapon, but I was angry enough that I didn't care if I got hurt, or if he got hurt. I grabbed for the hand that had the knife, latching onto his forearm with one hand and trying to pry it from his fingers with the other. His free hand wrenched mine away just as I almost had the knife, but I pulled away from him quickly, underestimated the force I was using and stumbled a few steps away from him. I turned again, this time raising my right hand in a fist, aiming for his face, when he grabbed my hand and shoved me back. As I fell I kicked against his legs, managing to trip him as he tried to side step out of the way.

I groaned and rolled over onto my stomach, intent on picking myself up, I had a few more good hits in me that I needed to get out, and if Puck was going to volunteer to be the punch bag, then I certainly wasn't going to pass that up.

Quickly, I glimpsed the knife out of the corner of my eye. It must have fallen out of Puck's hand when he fell and I lunged for it, my fingers just brushing the handle, when I felt arms wrap around my waist and hoist me up, slamming my back against a tree before Puck cornered me in. I fisted my hands in his shirt, trying to be some kind of threat, but it wasn't working. He was so close I could barely move, my chest rising and falling quickly as I breathed, pushing up against him. I had to crane my neck back to see his face above me. He had an arm on either side of my head the muscles tense and hard, ready for me to make a move. I looked back up at him, his eyes were a wild shade of green that said he was having too much fun and he had a smirk on his lips that said he'd won. As if. I could feel his heart beat race beneath my hands, and if I had wanted to I could have traced the muscles of his chest through his shirt. I ripped my mind away from that thought.

"You-" and then his lips pressed against mine, hard and rough, and definitely taking advantage of my already open mouth. I was shocked for a moment, kissing him back but still shocked. My cheeks grew warm, my stomach felt like it was doing backflips, but I could still feel the anger coursing through my body. I bit down hard on Puck's lower lip.

I felt Puck weave his fingers almost gently through my hair before pulling hard and forcing me to release my bite on his lip. I pouted at him, my fingers still pulling at his shirt, when did that happen? And he gave me a wicked smile before kissing me again, gently this time. Except, something in me didn't want gentle, I dragged my nails down his chest, feeling the muscles beneath his skin, as I tried to deepen the kiss, which was impossible with Puck holding me in place. I groaned, mostly out of annoyance that I couldn't get what I want, and ran my hands across his chest, exploring, teasing, and slightly wishing the shirt wasn't there in the first place.

I felt him groan against my lips as I wrapped my arms around him neck, letting my fingers twist and tug at his hair, pulling him closer, needing him closer, but not sure why. "I'll have to piss you off more often," he murmured against my lips while his free hand ran down my back, holding me against him, and rested at my lower back for a second before reaching lower and grabbing firmly at my ass, pressing our hips together. I gasped as his length pressed against my abdomen, my thighs clenched together for a moment before I raised my leg, trying to wrap it around his waist. For a second I felt his hand run along my thigh, then pause and squeeze, before abruptly spinning me so my chest was pushed up against the trunk of the tree and his front pressed to my back side. He grasped my wrists in one hand and pinned them above my head, his other hand wrapped around and pressed against my stomach, his fingertips brushing the edge of my pants.

I rubbed my butt against him teasingly as he pressed himself against me, biting down on my neck, causing a sigh to escape my lips. His hand on my stomach held my body in place, although I could still feel his erection pressed against my lower back.

"Let me turn around," my voice was soft and breathless. I wanted more, my anger had turned into need which was turning dangerously into something else. The air felt thick and hot against my skin, my clothes were too tight, I strained to move against him, but Puck held me in place.

"No," he answered against the skin on my shoulder before standing up to his full height. I felt his lips brush he top of my head.

"Please," it wasn't in my nature to plead.

"No," he repeated, and I could feel his stupid smirk against the top of my head. I groaned in frustration, but still couldn't move an inch.

Slowly the energy in the air began to calm down, Puck held me there for a while, refusing to let me move, but also not moving himself, keeping me trapped, although it wasn't a bad place to be trapped. The anger that had been there before was gone, the lust that had overcome us was gone as well, and finally, I heard Puck speak.

"Are you going to hit me again if I let you go?" He murmured, resting his head on top of mine.

"No," I mutter softly; his hands relax and release me, and he steps away, letting me turn around to face him. I can't help but notice how cool it feels with the absence of him against me. My body felt weak, leaning against the tree for support, I glanced shyly up at him, "so does fighting always turn you on?" I ask innocently, or as innocently as one can after, well, after that.

Puck smirked at me, "Only with you, if you can call that a fight, that is," he taunted, I was too overwhelmed for a witty comeback, so I just waited. "Are you still angry?"

"No, I don't think so," I answered. The previous emotions had burned through me like wildfire, but now I felt fine, maybe a little winded, but otherwise fine. "Is that a fae thing?" I asked tentatively.

"A summer fae thing," he commented, smiling at me now as he stands in front of me, not touching but close. Part of me is grateful that he doesn't get too close, I'm slightly worried what would happen if he did. "I warned you that emotions can get the better of us."

"I'm not 'one of you' yet," I correct him and cross my arms, partly because I feel cold without him and partly to guard myself from whatever his response is. "Is what Meghan said true?" I ask quietly.

Puck shrugged, "I don't know yet." As if that answer was enough.

"How can you not know?"

"It's not like this situation happens every decade or so," he replied casually, and sighed "if it makes you feel any better you haven't lost your soul yet, so it may never happen."

"How do you know?" I asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"As someone who doesn't have one, believe me, I know who has one and who doesn't." His words unnerved me and comforted me at the same time. Fae are soulless, who knew? Which meant that Robin Goodfellow was soulless. Which meant that I wanted to- nope not going there. Now that I was back in control of my emotions I was going to try my damned hardest to keep it that way.

"We should get going," I looked up expectantly at his words, he offered his hand out toward me, but I pushed past it. "I know a short cut to Arcadia but it's still a good distance away, and the sun might go down soon." That's right, I still had to follow through with my end of the deal, I had to help kill Titania, or at least put in a good effort.

"Right," I say, because I don't know what else to say, my mind is everywhere now. On Titania, my father, Leanansidhe, Meghan, the fact that I may or may not lose my soul, and not to mention that I'm slowly morphing into a summer fae. That might not be so bad, a tiny voice whispers to me, I glance up at Puck as he walks, for once, silently beside me. But then again, it could also be so much worse.

* * *

This chapter is a lot longer than I planned so I hope it somewhat makes up for my absence. It's what I call an emotional roller coaster, but at least it's fun ;) Speaking of that, I need to know people's opinions on if you guys want me to write the whole lemon/sex scene stuff, which would mean changing the rating to M, or if I should leave it out. Personally, I'm for the first option, but I can go either way. Review please!


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